Monday Night Football – One Weird Game

The Dolphins and the Colts met Monday night in which was expected to be a fairly close game (the spread being only 3.5 points). The game proved to be a star studded event as all of the Dolphin’s new celebrity owners were on hand to witness this crazy game.

The game started off very unconventional as the first play from scrimmage resulted in a 80 yard TD to a TE. Dallas Clark broke free after realing in a ball from Peyton Manning and took it to the house. I can not remember the last time I saw a TE catch a ball for that long.
The Dolphins answered right back with a TD of their own after one of their many powerhouse drives, led by Ronnie Brown and the Wildcat offense.

The main story of the game had to be the dominance of Miami’s offense over the Colts. 45 minutes the Fins held the ball compared to just 15 for the Colts. That is ridiculous ball control to say the least.
However it proved to be a lopsided stat as Manning would need only under a combined 4 minutes to put up 2 TDs in the 4th Qtr. One drive of 32 seconds for 80 yards, the other 3 minutes 17 seconds for 79 yards.

The Dolphins completley botched a last attempt drive in which time management and Tedd Ginn’s hands were clear issues on all of the Fins Fan’s minds.

It was not the final Dolphins offsensive series that lost them the game and it was not Indy’s Offense either. The Dolphins D is 100% to blame for this loss. Maybe the Fins D were distracted by all the new celebrity owners on hand. Who knows?

Manning gets a ton of credit for the Colt’s success and he deserves it, but on this weird Monday night game he was not the reason for the win. He was the beneficiary of one of the biggest Defensive collapses in Monday Night Football history.

Eric Feld

Top Performers In Week 1

This past week had some amazing performances from some amazing players. Drew Brees led the way with over 350 yards and 6 TDs in a victory over the Lions. Tom Brady did his best Tom Brady impression leading a dramatic come from behind win with a league leading 378 yards against the Buffalo Bills. And finally, Adrian “All Day” Peterson shredded the Cleveland Browns for 180 on the ground which was highlighted by his 65 yard TD run (his 3rd of the game), while adding 18 more through the air. Who do you guys think was the top performer in week 1?

Eric Feld

What to expect from Brandon Marshall

Baby T.O is at it again. The center of attention, limelight craving, primadonna WR, otherwise known as Brandon Marshall is the center of the latest Denver Broncos controversy. After being a distraction all during the off season in which he has openly demanded a trade, the Broncos finally had enough and sent Marshall packing for the rest of preseason. However, first year coach, Josh Daniels, has stated after the suspension that he acknowledges how great Marshall is and how the Broncos do want him back for their season opener.

Marshall is one of the NFL’s most talented WRs and any team would be lucky to have talent like him on their team. However, most teams would be just as lucky to avoid his constant distractions.

Besides the Broncos, probably the most anticipated recipients of the Marshall’s status are fantasy owners. The biggest question looming in the fantasy world right now is where do you take Marshall in the draft? Is it worth the risk of having a potential 100+rec. / 1000+ yard / 10+ TD caliber WR who could end up not playing one down? In most fantasy formats the standard starting lineup is 1 QB 2 RB 2 WR 1 TE. I would say that before you take this mega risk, at least have on your team 2 solid RBs , 1 WR and even a good to great QB. Thus, I would probably value Marshall’s stock as a low end No. 2 WR picking him somewhere in the late 4th/early 5th round range. Also, when drafting Marshall you should draft with the mind set that if you are going to take him you should probably have a decent backup available to select in the next pick or two.

Where would you guys draft him?

Eric Feld

Who is the top WR in this years draft?

Every time I bring this issue up with someone the question does not even get entertained. It is usually a nano second response of, “Of course its Larry Fitzgerald, who else would it be?”

Did Larry have the greatest postseason of any WR in NFL history? Undeniably. Did Larry also lead the league in TD’s last year. Undeniably, again.

But I always bring up a very interesting point. He was arguably not even the best WR last year. That award has to go to Andre Johnson.

Compare the stats and depending on which type of scoring format your league contains the best option could very well be to select Andre ahead of Mr. Fitz. Last year A.J had 115 catches for 1575 yards and 8tds vs Larry’s 96 catches for 1431 yards and 12 tds.

Andre Johnson is the main weapon on his team while Larry has to battle out 2 other 1000 yard WRs in Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston. The point is Andre will have a solid game week in week out as he is done the past few years WHEN HEALTHY opposed to Fitzgerald who is never hurt and may have an off game or two due to the talent around him.

The real knock on A.J is that he does get hurt because he is such a physical Wide Receiver, that being said I believe if you want to take a gamble I feel there is more of a risk reward situation in taking Andre Johnson ahead of Larry Fitzgerald. Taking Andre Johnson, you may get a guy who can set the NFL record for catches and yards but you have to deal with the nagging injuries. If you take Larry you probably will not have to worry about injuries and will only have to worry about those games as I said before that Boldin and Breaston shine in. But if the pick is on me I’ll take Andre!

And just a reminder Randy is getting his buddy Tom back, fireworks could be set off again. Let the debate begin.

Eric Feld
http://mvn.com/thefootballwire/2009/08/who-is-the-top-wr-in-this-years-fantasy-draft-3.html