Author Archive

« Older Entries

Win a 52″ LCD and a spot on Rules of the League Season 2

February 3rd, 2010

I know I’ve been wrapping the season with several contests, which probably isn’t exactly the kind of heavy-hitting football analysis you crave, but…well, it is Super Bowl week.

I’m also in the middle of finalizing the redesign to make Fools more awesome for 2010. (If you’re sober enough, you may notice most of the changes are already in effect.)

The guys from Rules of the League shot me an email this week about this contest, and considering the prize is a shiny new TV that you receive in time to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday, I couldn’t pass up the chance to tell you all about it.

Of course, you can help the Fantasy Football Fools out as well when you enter the contest, as you’ll read in their explanation of the contest below, exclamation points and all.

But for the CliffsNotes version, just tweet out the text in bold below and follow @therulesdottv on Twitter for a chance to win a TV. See? Easy.

Win a 52″ LCD and a spot on Rules of the League Season 2 – http://therules.tv (RT and follow @therulesdottv to enter) #FFFools

So be nice and tweet about the contest with Fantasy Football Fools’ custom hashtag “#FFFools.”

Not only will you be endeared in the hearts of…well, me…forever, you also might score an excellent TV to watch Peyton Manning and Drew Brees compete to hit 400 yards by halftime on Sunday.

And be sure to tweet now. The contest ends on Feb. 4 (tomorrow) at 9 a.m. P.S.T.

Here’s the complete message from Rules of the League:

Check out Rules of the League web comedy over at http://therules.tv.

Win a 52″ LCD TV?  No Way!

In celebration of their first season of the show, they are giving away a 52″ Widescreen LCD TV, and delivering it to your house in time for the big game this Sunday.  All you have to do is tweet out the following message:

“Win a 52″ LCD and a spot on Rules of the League Season 2 – http://therules.tv (RT and follow @therulesdottv to enter) #FFFools”

A winner will be chosen at random from all the people that participate.

Holy Crap!  A Spot in the Show, too?

The winner of the contest also gets to appear in Season 2 of Rules of the League.  Yes!  You heard right.  You get written into an episode of the show next season.

Help Your Favorite Blog!

See the #hash tag at the end of the twitter message above?  That means you’re helping your favorite blog get written into the show, too.  The blog with the most retweets also gets a spot in the show.  Awesome!  All you have to do to enter is retweet the message above.

Comments »

Posted in Foolish Thoughts

Tags:

Spice up your postseason with Buffalo Wild Wings and 10 Yards on DVD

January 4th, 2010

I’ve been meaning to get to a giveaway for some time now, but wrapping up my fantasy football leagues and trash-talking the ones in which I won the championship — it’s a requirement of any champion, you know — took more of my free hours than expected last week. With the fantasy season coming to a close (unless you’re playing playoff fantasy football with FF Librarian), I still have a few prizes to give out to you, my awesome readers.

And so, I’ve come up with an idea for a contest.

Buffalo Wild WingsThose of you who stopped by every week, reading my articles and probably not laughing at all the witty banter I thought was entertaining, deserve to get something for sticking it out. So here’s what I’ve got:

  1. A bottle of your very own Buffalo Wild Wings sauce. I’ve chosen Mango Habanero because, as long as you can stand the burn, it’s the tastiest sauce at BWW. Trust me.
  2. 10 Yards: Fantasy Football on DVD. This movie documented our addicting habit, and I reviewed it earlier this season. Now, you can own it and get a chance to review it for yourself in the comments.

How do you get your hands on one of these lovely treats? Well, we’re going to play a game. Mind the bold.

To enter the contest, in the comments below this post, tell me which NFL player will have the best fantasy performance this weekend in the Wild Card games. All offensive players are eligible, including quarterbacks, but don’t go picking a team defense or an IDP player. For the detail-oriented, assume standard ESPN scoring will be used to judge who had the best game.

Please also tell me whether you would prefer to receive the bottle of wing sauce (Mango Habanero!) or the 10 Yards DVD. Just say “Mango Habanero!” or “10 Yards DVD!” in your comment. Yes, you can only win one. I know you want them both, but hey, we must share the wealth.

Example Submission: Chris Johnson. Mango Habanero!

(And no, those of you who copy my example answer will be awarded no points, will not pass go, and will not collect $200, especially since the Titans did not make the playoffs.)

I know our comments can be edited, which means you sneaky devils can change your answer, but any edits you make to your comment must be finalized by the time the Jets and Bengals kickoff at 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, Jan. 9 (my birthday, by the way).

If you edit your comment after 4:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday, it will be ineligible for the contest, and you shall feel the shame of cheating to win wing sauce or a DVD. That’s some kind of shame.

It also goes without saying that you can only enter once. But there, I said it anyway.

After the final Wild Card game on Sunday, I’ll review the comments and pick our two winners. The first commenter selected will get their preference on the prize, and the second selection will just have to live with the sloppy seconds.

If exactly two of you guess correctly, those two will be our winners, and my job will be easy. If more than two of you guess the best fantasy performance, I’ll select two from the pool of correct commenters at random. If less than two (or none) of you guess the right guy, I’ll move on to those who guessed the second-highest fantasy performance correctly and so on, choosing a comment at random if we have a pool of more than two to choose from until we have two winners.

Hopefully, we won’t have to go as far as the fifth, sixth, or seventh-best fantasy performance, right?

So get your comment in now. Feel free to go out on a limb. Just don’t do anything too crazy like guess Wes Welker (injured, as if you didn’t know). Best of luck to you all and thanks for reading Fantasy Football Fools this season.

As an added thank you to Buffalo Wild Wings for not only providing a bottle of sauce for this contest (and myself) but also including me in their All-Star Bloggers League this season, let me also make you aware of the promotion they’re running right now on gift cards…

Does your deadbeat fantasy football leaguemate still owe you $5? Rather than abuse his voicemail relentlessly, just use his next gift-giving occasion to buy a $25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings, which earns you a $5 gift card in the process.

Buffalo Wild Wings - Buy $25 Gift Card, Get $5 Back

That’ll show him.

Thanks again for reading, and best of luck in this week’s contest.

Disclosure: Buffalo Wild Wings provided the sauce as a sample, and I am not obligated to return it [http://cmp.ly/2]. I received a review copy of 10 Yards: Fantasy Football that I am not obligated to return and received permission to give it away after my review was complete [http://cmp.ly/1].

UPDATE: Congrats to our winners wingateg3 (10 Yards DVD) and ericdickens (Mango Habanero!)

Comments »

Posted in Foolish Thoughts

Tags:

And while you’re kicking yourself for not drafting these guys in the first place

December 31st, 2009

Here’s a look from Sports Data Hub at the top fantasy performers at each position as of the beginning of December.

We all wish we could go back to the draft and change something, whether we want to draft Miles Austin or not draft Matt Forte, but looking at the cold, raw numbers after almost an entire fantasy football season shows us many of our mistakes (and in bar graph form, which makes it slightly less depressing).

Where did we get surprised?

Quarterbacks

The big surprise at quarterback this year for me was Brett Favre, who not only joined the ranks late but also became a fantasy stud down the stretch. He may be fading now, but he still established himself among the top at the position for another year. As much as I loathe him, I’ll give him credit for that.

Jay Cutler, on the other hand, bottomed out more than expected. Clearly, the receiver situation in Chicago isn’t to his liking, and he’s not comfortable in that offense just yet.

Time will tell whether the team takes a new direction by getting a new offensive coordinator or makes a move to acquire a top talent at wide receiver like Anquan Boldin. The only problem with the latter solution is all the picks they gave away to get Cutler in the last offseason.

Cutler’s performance against the Vikings on Monday Night Football could be a good sign that they’re getting on track for 2010.

Running Backs

San Diego Chargers v Tennessee Titans

Chris Johnson was an iffy top running back prospect to start the year. Some took the chance and were greatly rewarded. Others warned that LenDale White would still steal all his scoring opportunities. It’s clear he’s become a fantasy force, one who will continue to be highly drafted. He’s probably the No. 1 overall pick in your draft next season.

But the big surprise was Ray Rice (even though I predicted he’d be good, I didn’t know he’d be this good). He jumped from a murky Baltimore running back situation to become one of the top backs in fantasy, and he’ll probably stay among the elite with Willis McGahee on his way out.

Ricky Williams and Thomas Jones certainly have more staying power than any of us realized. They’re still getting it done, even at their advanced age. Williams owes his scoring chances early in the year to Ronnie Brown, who made the Wildcat a legitimate threat at the goal line throughout his reign of terror until he was injured.

It’ll be interesting to see what Miami and New York do in the offseason. Ronnie Brown is likely to assume the starting duties again once he is healthy, but New York could part ways with Jones if they so choose, opting instead to ride Leon Washington and rookie pounder Shonn Greene.

In recent weeks, they’ve given Greene more than his usual number of carries to see what they have behind Jones for next season.

Wide Receivers

DeSean Jackson came up in the world in a big way as McNabb’s favorite target this season. Is it finally safe to start a Philadelphia receiver? It seems that way for 2010.

The hot names to add to the list of the elite are Miles Austin and Sidney Rice. Both were touted for their physical attributes and explosive talents, but neither had lived up to expectations, falling victim to injury or being buried on the depth chart the past two seasons.

Rice broke out this season as the Vikings’ biggest threat in the passing game, and he’ll only get better, regardless of who comes in to quarterback Minnesota once Favre finally leaves — but will that EVER happen?

Austin should continue to be one of Tony Romo’s favorite, most trusted targets, and that’s extremely valuable with a quarterback as determined to make a play as Romo is every down.

Tight Ends

Vernon Davis, we hardly knew ye. He did it. He finally did it. All it took was a new coach and a new offense geared around his ability to separate from mismatches. Well done, sir.

Brent Celek also proved that the Eagles had really been missing L.J. Smith’s contributions in recent years when injury and ineffectiveness kept Smith from playing the part. Celek’s role at tight end in the Philadelphia offense only adds to the stockpile of weapons at Andy Reid’s disposal.

Kickers

Ha, just kidding. Nothing’s drastically shifted here, but there was a lot of musical chairs being played around the league as certain kickers lost their leg and teams were forced to make a change.

This year has been a surprising one once again, at least for me. A lot of players that we’d looked forward to seeing finally made a show of themselves. It’s safe to say I wish all my leagues were keeper leagues. The young talent we’ve seen this year should be a factor in fantasy football for years to come.

So now, armed with the knowledge of what’s altered the fantasy landscape this season, what can we say? Better luck next year?

Comments »

Posted in Tips & Strategy

Tags:

On the Wire: Week 17 Pickups and Holiday Leftovers

December 30th, 2009

As most of you are probably riding the team that got you to the final week of the fantasy season or done for the year, there won’t be an official “On the Wire” post this week.

Instead, I’ll offer up some takes from around the Web.

As always, FF Librarian is another one-stop shop for your weekly fantasy football prep. You can also get some good fill-ins for Week 17 at The FF Geek Blog, Fanhouse, KFFL, Razzball, and Lester’s Legends.

Fantasy Joe even has some special one-week plays on defense, including the San Francisco 49ers, who had a solid outing last week against the Lions — solid enough to prevent me from my third championship this year.

As you go into this week, pay special attention to which teams are resting their players. Week 17 is more of a mess than any other week in the NFL. Maybe next year you can request that your commish kindly move the championship game to Week 16 instead.

Comments »

Posted in On the Wire

Tags:

Foolish Thoughts on 2009 Season: So why didn’t we all draft Chris Johnson?

December 29th, 2009

It’s insanity. That’s what fantasy football is when it comes to the playoffs. Jonathan Stewart and Jerome Harrison become huge fantasy steals in the final two games, and studs that you’ve depending on all season like Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers clam up and shut down early, even in blowout wins. At least Chris Johnson has continued to be magical every week.

I forget how bizarre it really becomes until it’s this time of year again.

Now Harrison will likely compel some fantasy footballers to draft him as an RB3 or maybe even an RB2 next season. Jamaal Charles could be right up there with him. We can only hope that neither is next year’s Steve Slaton or Pierre Thomas, hot in the playoffs but average or inconsistent the following season when given the full responsibility and trust of fantasy owners.

In Charles’ case, I think he’s got a real chance to thrive in the Kansas City offense as long as the current coaching staff stays intact. He’s a great receiving back, and even if the Chiefs decide that they need to bring in a bigger runner to take some of the carries and compliment Charles in the offseason — LenDale White is available, or so I hear — Charles should get plenty of chances to put up big numbers as part of the explosive offense Todd Haley is trying to create.

Out of the five fantasy football leagues I played in this season, I made the playoffs in three and had the chance to play for three championships this week. Of those, I won two and lost one by just a single point (as long as current calculations hold up) after Peterson racked up those two short-yardage touchdowns last night. It was incredibly frustrating, but I can’t be completely unhappy with the results. Even losing that one championship game out of three, this year has been my best season so far.

And next season, I want to focus even more on the leagues that were truly competitive. I’ve reduced the number of leagues I played in over the past two seasons. This year, I was down to five, and next season, I’ll probably take it down another league or two until I find the sweet spot for managing leagues, writing fantasy football analysis, and enjoying the game.

Here are some questions you can answer in the comments below: How many leagues do you play in? Do you find it more fun to play in a small number of leagues or as many as possible? These are the decisions I always debate this time of year.

Dallas Cowboys v Washington Redskins

I think I’m one of the few fantasy football fans out there, especially among fantasy football bloggers, who cares more about their real team winning (in my case, the Cowboys) than their fantasy team. It excited me to no end when the Cowboys shutout the Redskins last night and secured a playoff spot.

I wasn’t nearly as pumped when my fantasy football teams made the playoffs. Satisfied? Yes, but excited? Not off-the-wall excited. That said, it wasn’t a close call for any of them either. I knew weeks in advance that I was bound for the playoffs.

I’d hope we’re all fans of the game and the action-packed saga that is the NFL. If not for it, we wouldn’t have fantasy football.

So even if you lost your league, even if you got shot down in the championship game, even if your league dues were wasted as soon as you drafted Brian Westbrook and Matt Forte, I hope you’ll sit down and watch a few more games next week and deep into the playoffs.

Playoff football is a treat that only comes around once each year, much like the holiday season that just passed. Our presents? The Super Bowl, one of the most extravagant and exciting sporting events in all the land.

If you truly want to win in fantasy football, I think you first have to love the game because you have to understand how to translate what you watch and get excited about on the field into what works on your fantasy roster. So sit down, crack open a cold one (or a nice, frosty beverage of a less alcoholic persuasion if that’s your thing), and enjoy some football over the next month.

Of course, it’d be nice to know you’re all doing it with a championship trophy on your mantel, like me, but if you didn’t win, there’s no shame in cheering your fantasy studs on to a Super Bowl as you start to prep for next season.

And don’t feel like the fantasy season has to end. I’ll still be posting to Fantasy Football Fools because we have to start looking ahead to 2010 and because I still have some prizes to give to you, my dear readers. If you need help with Week 17 decisions (for those terrible, terrible leagues that go into the dreaded final week of the regular season), drop me a line on Twitter or in the comments.

Thanks again for reading Fantasy Football Fools this season and being part of the foolish community. Stay tuned for more over the coming days. Even if you didn’t win your championship, you deserve to take home some prizes.

Comments »

Posted in Foolish Thoughts

Tags: