Don't Hate...Appreciate

The year was 1972 and the team was the Miami Dolphins. Yes, I am talking about the Perfect Season. Well now there is another team in the 2008 season that has a chance to repeat history. Altough it is unlikely, the Tennessee Titans have the possiblity of going undefeated and winning the Superbowl. One of the main reasons that it is unlikely for the Titans to do so is because of the NFL fans throughout the league. All the way up to the week 8 Titans vs. Colts showdown the NFL community was constantly saying that,"the Titans had not played a good team yet, but week 8 they finally had a tough game." The final result of the Titans vs. Colts game was 31-21 in favor of the Titans, but for some odd reason the people saying that the Titans had a tough game against the Colts are still saying that the Titans have not proved themselves. What? How can one say that the Titans have not proved themselves even tho the week before they said that the Titans finally had a tough game? I was astonished when I heard that. The Titans have won by an average margin of 13 points per game yet their performance still is not good enough for some fans. The '72 Dolphin's win margin through their first 7 games was 12 points per game. The last time I looked at a number line, the number 13, the Titan's average win margin, was greater than the number 12, the '72 Dolphin's average win margin. So until the Titans actaully do lose a game, do not say that they have not proved themselves because a perfect season is a perfect season, no matter what kind of scheduele you have or if you have "proved yourself" or not.

Weekly Recap

Week 8 was another great week in the NFL. Once again in London, England there was rain, and a lot of it. Although the weather was gloomy, the field that is used to support on average a 150 pound soccer player actually held up when the 350 pound monsters stepped on the field. The final in London was 37-32 in favor of the New Orleans Saints. Although I did not predict this outcome I did go 8-6 this week and was 2 for 3 on my fantasy studs.

One of my wins this week was in the monday night football game between the Colts and Titans. This was a great game in Tennessee where the Titans were trailing 7-6 going into the half, then came back fired up in the second half scoring 25 points to win 31-21.

If you look back at "Monday Night Match-Up" you will see that I made a correct call on Manning having 2 passing touchdowns along with LenDale White racking up 2 touchdowns and Chris Johnson 1 touchdown. It was an excellent week of football and week 9 looks to be a good follow-up week with a few key matchups being the divisional game between the Jets and the Bills, along with New England at Indianapolis and of course the Green Bay Packers visiting the still undefeated Tennessee Titans. Week 9 looks to be fantastic so stay tuned for fantasy updates and predictions on week 9 games.

Monday Night Match-Up

Tonight the (3-3) Indianapolis Colts are heading down south to play the (6-0) Tennessee Titans. This should be a great game in that it is a AFC South divisional game, between the Titans who are number 1 in the AFC South and the Colts who are number 2. There is sure to be some big hits to go along with big plays, but both of these seem to be comming from the Titans. The Titans have the number 1 defense in the league, allowing on average 11 points per game and only giving up 269 yards per game, third in the NFL. The Titans defense has allowed most of these yards via the run which is a huge problem for the Colts. The Colts will not have their starting running back, Joseph Addai, and will have to rely on Dominic Rhodes to carry the ball against the Titans brick wall defense. Being that the game is in Tennessee will also play into the Titans hands and we can all expect a Titans victory of at least 10 points tonight.

Fantasy Wise, expect big numbers from Titans pair of running backs Chris Johnson and LenDale White. Johnson should have his average 18 touches for 95 yards and 1 touchdown, while the beast in the redzone, White, will have 10 touches for 56 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the Indianapolis side of the ball do not expect any large numbers from Manning, Wayne, or Harrison being that the Titan's defense is so great. Expect 2 touchdowns from Manning, 1 to Wayne and 1 to TE Dallas Clark, the Colts leading reciever when playing on grass surfaces like Tennessee. Good luck on your last minute wins fantasy owners and for the betting fan, over the age of 18 of course, look to take the Titans minus 4 tonight.

Week 8 in the NFL

Week 8 should be a heck of a week in the NFL. From a tough divisional rivalry in Miami to an evenly matched game in The Big D, and don't forget the game across the pond between San Diego and New Orleans. Here is a rundown of injury updates and fantasy studs and duds:

Injury Update:

-PIT Willie Parker (Knee) did not practice friday and most likely will not play.
-PIT Santonio Holmes (Marijuana Possesion Charge) is deactivated for game against NYG.
-IND Joseph Addai (Hamstring) is out against the Titans monday night.
-CIN Carson Palmer (Elbow) is unlikely to play.
-CLE Kellen Winslow (Verbal Altercations With Team) will not play this week but should return in week 9.
-PHI Brian Westbrook (Ribs, Ankle) is listed as probable and will play.
-STL Steven Jackson (Thigh) is a game-time decision.
-NYJ Laverneus Coles (Concussion) is a game-time decision.

Fantasy Studs:

STUDS:

QB: This weeks top quarter back will be Drew Brees (NO). Despite having no Reggie Bush, aka a run game, Brees is matched up against the porus San Diego secondary who give up 255 passing yards per game. Along with this, Brees' talent will help him outperform the Chargers' defense.

RB: This weeks top running back will be Thomas Jones (NYJ). Jones is going up against the Kansas City defense that has averaged the worst rushing defense in the league giving up 207 rush yards per game. After having a great week against the Oakland Raiders, Jones will return with THE BEST week of any running back this week agianst the Chiefs.

WR: This weeks top wide reciever will be Santana Moss (WAS). Moss has had a good season thus far with 518 reciving yards and 4 touchdowns but watchout this week. Going against the Lions secondary I see Moss comming out of Detroit with 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Week 8 Preview

Week 8 looks to be a very evenly matched week. The average spread in Vegas for this week is 6 points, one touchdown, without the extra-point of course. This is a particullary low average spread and forcasts a very tight week in the NFL.
One of this week's best games is going to be the (5-2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing at the (4-3) Dallas Cowboys. The Buccaneers have been playing superb defense averaging 15 points against per game this season, while the offense has been averaging 23 points per game. With and injured Tony Romo and Felix Jones, the Cowboy's offense looks down but don't give up on veteran Brad Johnson who's expierence should keep the Cowboys in the game. Johnson did perform poor in last weeks game against the St. Louis Rams, but after not starting a game since his 2006 season with Minnesota, we have to give the man some time to chip off all the rust. Along with this the Cowboys still have Marion "The Barbarian" Barber in the backfield. Barber will recieve most of the touches with Felix Jones being injured, but fantasy owners you can only look for Barber to have an average week due to Tampa's stingy run defense. Because the game is in Dallas we have to give the home field points to Dallas and I am predicting a final score of 23-17 in favor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Another great match-up this week is the (5-1) Buffalo Bills visiting the (2-4) Miami Dolphins. Looking at the team's records it looks as if the Bills will destroy the Dolphins this week but I have one word, wildcat. The wildcat offense is the new offense implemented into the Dolphins offense, which seems to be effective for Miami. This game is a divisional game making it all the more interesting. The Dolphins defense has given up and average of 22 points per game, mostly through the air. This plays into the Bills hand's, who have averaged 222 yards of passing offense per game. This game should be close but I am predicting the final score to be, sorry dol-fans, 31-21 in favor of the Buffalo Bills.
Now here is a quick rundown of who is going to pull of the W's this week in the NFL:
Oakland @ Baltimore- Baltimore
Arizona @ Carolina- Carolina
Tampa Bay @ Dallas- Tampa Bay
Washington @ Detroit- Washington
Buffalo @ Miami- Buffalo
St. Louis @ New England- New England
San Diego @ New Orleans (In London)- San Diego
Kansa City @ New York Jets- New York Jets
Atlanta @ Philadelphia- Atlanta
Clevland @ Jacksonville- Jacksonville
Cincinnati @ Houston- Houston
New York Giants @ Pittsburg- Pittsburg
Seattle @ San Francisco- Seattle
Indianapolis @ Tennessee- Tennessee

***FANTASY UPDATES: Saturday (Injury Updates) and Sunday (Studs and Duds)***

The Big D in Dallas

As soon as one says "The Big D" any true football fan immediatly thinks Dallas Cowboys. Well "The Big D" may have a new meaning. Many are now associating "The Big D" to DRAMA, but no worries Cowboy fans this drama is at home in Dallas.
Starting off lightly, there is the story from this past week of Tony Romo's broken pinky. This injury came on his throwing hand in the overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals in week 6. Tony Romo was not going to play due to this injury but after talking to a man that knows something about playing injured, Brett Favre himself, Romo decided he would play. Jerry Jones had other thoughts and set Romo as the week 7 backup quarterback. This one injury stir up a lot of drama in "The Big D" over the past 2 weeks. So stay tuned and see what happens this week on, The Tony Romo soap opera.
Here is another drama packed name in Dallas. Adam "Pacman" Jones. How can one man cause so much drama? Jones was just recently handed down a suspension of at least 4 games from Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, for an alcohol related fight with his own bodyguard. I thought people hire bodyguards to protect them, but hey I could be wrong. Just before this 4 game suspension, Jones was reinstated from a 17 month suspension for continuous legal troubles.
Why does the owner of the Cowboys, Jerry Jones, view this behavior as acceptable? Is he just attempting to carry on the "rebelious" nature of the Cowboys? If you look to Dallas' past you will see how troubled their team always was. There was always drama in "The Big D", from Michael Irvin to Adam "Pacman" Jones. Jerry Jones needs to take control of his team and save the Dallas Cowboy's reputation, or at least what is left of it.

Week 7 Recap

Week 7 in the NFL was full of surprises. In Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium we saw a power outage in the first quarter which seemed to filter to both Buffalo and San Diego’s offenses for the remainder of the game. We were also privileged enough to actually see an OFFENSIVE game between Minnesota and Chicago for once. Finally we saw St. Louis jump on the bandwagon with Arizona by upsetting the Dallas Cowboys in consecutive weeks.

Fantasy wise, Week 7 had some twists. Drew Brees realized that just because people say you might, eventually, break the all-mighty Dan Marino’s record for passing yards doesn’t mean that you will have a good week. Brett Favre also had a realization. He saw that just because you influence a young quarterback like Tony Romo to play despite an injury does not mean that the coach Wade Phillips, or in this case Jerry Jones, will actually play them. Speaking of Brett Favre, is anyone still keeping track of whether Favre or Rodgers is doing better? Well Week 7 showed that the youth in this league may just outplay the elder when Green Bay stomped the Colts 34-14 and the Jets lost in overtime 13-16 to the, now 2-4, Oakland Raiders. Favre went 21 for 38 with 197 yards and 2 interceptions while Rodgers had 10 less attempts yet still threw a touchdown.

Week 7 Top Performers:

Passing:
- Kyle Orton (Chicago Bears): 21/32, 283 YDS, 2 TD, and 0 INT
- Matt Cassel (New England Patriots): 18/24, 185 YDS, 3 TD, and 0 INT
- Jeff Garcia (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): 27/36, 310 YDS, 1 TD, and 0 INT

Rushing:
- Steve Jackson (St. Louis Rams): 25 ATT, 160 YDS, and 3 TD
- LenDale White (Tennessee Titans): 17 ATT, 149 YDS, and 3 TD
- Mewelde Moore (Pittsburg Steelers): 20 ATT, 120 YDS, and 2 TD

Receiving:
- Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions): 2 REC, 154 YDS, and 1 TD
- Antonio Bryant (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): 6 REC, 115 YDS, and 1 TD
- Randy Moss (New England Patriots): 5 REC, 69 YDS, and 2 TD