NFL Survivor League Advice

I know it is a little early in the week to decide this but I thought I would take a look at the games for the upcoming week to see who would be the best teams to pick for your survivor league (assuming you’re still in it).

In case you did not know what a Survivor league here is a little explanation. You are in a contest with other people and everybody picks team per week that they think will win. Sounds easy right, think again. Once you pick that team, (I.E. you picked New Orleans last week over the Lions) you cannot use this team again for the rest of the season. So when making week 2’s picks N.O would not be an option for you. If you picked Detroit, you are out of the contest. Last man standing, AKA the survivor, wins.

Back to the forecast now. There are three games that I think should result in wins for you. The first game I’m going to look at is Washington vs. St. Louis. St. Louis laid a nice goose egg last week against the Seahawks and looked even worse than the Lions. Being Washington’s first home game of the season and coming off a tough loss against NYG where they looked I think this is a no brainer.

Pick- Redskins

Another great pick is the Minnesota Vikings. This week they go to Detroit where if you saw the game from last week it does not look like they will be getting a win anytime soon with that defense. I know it was Drew Brees who carved them up through the air last week, but it will be Adrian “All Day” Peterson who makes Detroit pay this time.
Pick- Vikings

The final pick is Green Bay vs. Cincinnati. It looked like Carson Palmer is still not completely back from his injury and the offense looked pretty stagnant. The Packers are trying to rally and continue their success after a late minute TD pushed them ahead of the Chicago Bears. With the game being in GB it’s tough to go against the Packers.

Pick- Packers

Who do you guys think is a sure pick this weekend? Leave some comments and tell us your opinion.

Eric Feld

Baseball Picks For 9/15/09

Here are some picks for tonight’s games from SMJ’s Baseball Guru. Enjoy!

Phillies over Nationals Cliff lee struggled lately but you can’t ignore the Philly offense. Plus you never know when he could pitch a gem. Also, it’s the Nats, always a good idea to put your money on the other team.

Blue Jays over Yankees Two words – Roy Halladay. Yanks stink against him. No reason to think that will change. Let it ride on the Blue Jays.

Upset Special of the Night

Orioles over Rays

Yes they lost last night, but the Orioles just went through a brutal stretch of Texas, Boston and NY going .500 (4-4). The rays have struggled lately and that will continue tonight. Yes the Orioles stink, but so do the Rays. Stick with Baltimore tonight.

Let us know what you think!

- SMJ Baseball Guru

Monday Night Football Picks

This Monday night football fans are treated with two NFL games to kick off the first week of the season. Both games are sure to be easy betting picks and win a ton of money for anyone making wagers.

The first is Buffalo Bills vs. NE Patriots (-11)

I know there has been hype about the Bills this offseason with the acquisition of T.O. but it is all for nothing. The Patriots are getting back Tom and that’s all that needs to be said. Yeah, maybe Buffalo will put up a few more points then they would have without T.O. there but this will not make up for what the Pats will do to them tonight. I especially do not think Belichick will allow a close game as he has been preparing for this game since last January. With Belichick and Brady running the show, the Pats will cruise for a 20+ point victory over their rivals.

Final Pick - Take Pats -11

The second gimme game: SD Chargers (-10) vs. Oakland Raiders

Chargers are going to destroy the Raiders on national TV tonight. Jamarcus Russell could not be a bigger bust if he tried. All SD has to do is focus on Mcfadden and Oak’s run game and that should be the end of it. I know the Raiders added Seymour last week which is nice, but it will not come close to making up for what the Chargers are capable of both offensively and defensive. With stars such as Rivers, Merriman, and LT looking to light up the stage the Chargers will win by at least 14 points.

Final Pick - Take Chargers -10

Let me know if you guys think any differently.

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

Which freshman QB was more impressive this weekend

The display of freshman QBs was on this week as USC’s Matt Barkley and Michigan’s Tate Forcier each earned huge victories for their teams on Saturday.

Barkley struggled early on but played his butt off when it mattered the most. With his team trailing by 5 points with around 7 minutes left USC’s freshman QB led the Trojans 73 yards in 6 minutes for a game winning drive which was capped by a 3 yard Stafon Johnson TD. This team made the right decision going with Barkley as a starter, the next four years will be fun for the Trojans.

Forcier was not just one of the most unstoppable freshman I have ever seen but he was as dominant as any QB has been for their team in recent memory. His play making ability was reminiscent of Vince Young’s when he was with Texas or Michael Vick’s with Virginia Tech. Notre Dame really had no answer for him as he torched them for 240 passing yards and adding another 70 through the ground. But the stats don’t tell the whole story as Forcier had game changing play after play which included a 31 yard TD scramble on 4th down. He then orchestrated a final game winning drive with just about 2 minutes left and threw the winning TD with just seconds remaining.

Tough call between the two, but I think I have to give the nod with Barkley. Matt Barkley’s performance is a little more impressive as Ohio State’s defense is much more talented then Notre Dame and doing what he did on a primetime game with the whole nation watching in only his 2nd game is quite the accomplishment.

What do you guys think?

Eric Feld

The Top Fantasy Football WR Sleepers

A few weeks ago I wrote an article on who would be the top WR this year in the league. The article was basically between Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald and who would I rather have on my fantasy team. Well one of the comments left by a reader asked me besides the obvious top ranked WRs who else should he be thinking of drafting.

I thought about it for a while and here is what I came up with…….
Every year the NFL has them. Guys come out of absolutely nowhere to make huge impacts on your fantasy team. Last year the top WR sleeper award went to Eddie Royal, as he literally busted out of nowhere to grab 91 balls for 980 yards and 5 TDs. Not too shabby for a rookie who went undrafted in basically every fantasy league last year.

This year I feel there are 3 gems that while they may not go undrafted and they do have better name recognition then Royal did last year, they are still not looked upon as top WR options.

1. Devon Hester- The speed, the agility, the playmaking ability, it’s all there for this guy. The one thing he has been missing is a QB. Well he has certainly found that in Jay Cutler, and if we learned anything from his time in Denver, Cutler loves to throw it down the field. This will result in tons of huge of plays for Hester and he will be amongst the league leaders in yards and TDs when all is said and done.

2. Vincent Jackson- It may be kind of hard to say he is a sleeper. As the fantasy world began drafting in late July/early August, Jackson was a consensus 6-7th round pick. Comparable to the likes of a Bernard Berian or Desean Jackson. Both good players, but if you are banking on those guys carrying your team, you got a long year coming. The fantasy world has woken up, with the most recent drafts V.J. is being selected usually by mid to late 4th round. The reason is that he has become Phillip River’s go to guy. It’s no longer Gates, every big play down the field the Chargers have had all preseason has been to Vincent Jackson. He definitely has the ability to carry your team as a true No. 1 WR. All these reasons are why he will end up being a top 5 to 10 WR by the year’s end.

3. Chris Henry- “The next Randy Moss” as Carson Palmer put it. This guy has all the tools to be a pro bowl WR as long as he is staying out of trouble and staying on the field. You have to believe with the departure of T.J. Houshmandzadeh, this will open the door for Henry. Even with the addition of Coles, Palmer will definitely look to Henry before him as there is already an established relationship between the two.

Let me know if you guys have any other suggestions?

Eric Feld
www.sportsmumbojumbo.com

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