Another win

I got great production Trent Edwards (41 points), Tyler Thigpen (28 points), and Lance Moore (24 points - including a late interception, after which the Saints just ran out the clock). I also got solid production from Adrian Peterson (14 points), Marion Barber (13 points), and Stephen Gostkowski (12 points). Marvin Harrison (7 points) and Todd Heap (3 points) were more disappointing, but not terrible.

Matt Hasselbeck put up 15, Kevin Faulk had 19, Chester Taylor had 10 and still looks like a must start if Peterson goes down, Marques Colston had 14 on one 70 yard TD catch, Owen Daniels put up 3, his first score of more than one since Rosenfels took over for Schaub. I should have held on to Mark Bradley who scored 13 with a long TD from Thigpen - except that he did leave with more calf trouble, so I think I wouldn't want to use him next week anyway.

The guy with the #1 seed lost, joining me at 9-3. He has a big lead on me in points scored, so I'll never beat him in a tiebreaker. I would be the #1 seed, though, if I win and he loses again next week. Both 7-4 teams won to get to 8-4. They both are ahead of me in points scored by a decent amount. So, if I lose next week, I would probably be down to the #3 seed.

Late move

I added Steve Smith, WR NYG and let go Mark Bradley, WR KC. I'm sorry to see Bradley go, but I don't think he'll do enough this week that anyone will race out to pick him up. Smith has an excellent match up against the Cardinals and Plaxico Burress might be out of the game. If I found out that Burress won't play, I might put Smith in for Lance Moore. The Packers are one of the toughest teams against WRs. Of course, it is Monday and the Saints have an excellent passing game. I do hate these hard decisions; maybe I should play Smith for Edwards? except that game is at 1 and the Giants play at 4:15, so I won't know if Smith is an excellent play.

Prior to Week 12

I'll get to the player movement when I discuss the different positions. This is the second to last week and so we get two last games against division mates. I won all three the first time through the division. Two more wins and I lock up a bye in the first week of the playoffs. My opponent this week is in the running for the last playoff spot, the one reserved for the remaining team with the most points scored. He doesn't care if he wins or loses, he just wants to score points. He got 11 from the Steelers D on Thursday night. It's a credible score.

QB: Tyler Thigpen, KC vs BUF, Trent Edwards, BUF at KC, Matt Hasselbeck, SEA vs WAS, J.P. Losman, BUF at KC. I'm definitely playing Losman. He's now the #18 QB for the season despite having just 5 starts or some ridiculous number like that. Edwards has a better match up than Hasselbeck and I think I'll play him. I wish I felt more confident about it. Seneca Wallace was waived and hasn't been claimed. If I could add a fifth QB, I'd definitely grab him. As it is, I have to decide whether I'd rather have Losman or Wallace. So far, I'm siding with Losman, but I guess that could keep changing.

RB: Marion Barber, DAL vs SF, Adrian Peterson, MIN at JAC, Kevin Faulk, NE at MIA, Chester Taylor, MIN at JAC, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE at MIA, J.J. Arrington, ARI vs NYG. The great Tatum Bell experiment lasted just one week for me, though I wouldn't be surprised to see him score some points in Denver this week. I picked up Arrington instead; he scored twice last week and could be taking over Tim Hightower's old role now that Hightower is the starter. I'll certainly play Barber and Peterson who seem to have nice match ups. I am very curious what the Pats do with their carries this week. Green-Ellis got almost none last week.

WR: Lance Moore, NO vs GB, Matt Jones, JAC vs MIN, Marvin Harrison, IND at SD, Mark Bradley, KC vs BUF, Josh Morgan, SF at DAL (out, IR for me), Marques Colston, NO vs GB, Deion Branch, SEA vs WAS. Moore and Harrison had big weeks last week and so I'll probably play them this week. That sounds dumb but Harrison has a nice match up and Moore has been too hot to sit any longer. Jones seems to be healthy again and has a good match up, so I'm sorry not to have a spot for him. I'm also certain that sitting Colston means he'll have a huge game. I could play one of those guys instead of a QB for the flex, but I'm not feeling ready to make that move. Bradley has had some injury concerns this week, so I don't mind sitting him. I'm not sure what Branch will do against a tough D, but I'd like to see him continuing to be involved with the offense. He has been quoted as expecting to be cut during the offseason. Since I could keep him for a 17th round pick, I'm not excited by that, but if he ends up in the right place, it could be fabulous for me.

TE: Owen Daniels, HOU at CLE, Todd Heap, BAL vs PHI. Matt Spaeth came through for me big time last week, but Heath Miller returned to health so Spaeth had to go. I picked up Heap again thinking; Philly puts a lot of pressure on QBs, which could mean dump offs to the TE. Daniels had his second straight 1 point day with Rosenfels at the helm. This time, he was targeted four times, down from six the week before. I expect to keep sitting him until Schaub comes back or the match up is too enticing.

PK: Stephen Gostkowski, NE at MIA. He had a huge game last week in what looked like a tough match up and moved up to being the #1 PK for the year, one point ahead of Jason Elam of the Falcons.

TM: Tennessee Titans vs NYJ. The Titans scored another solid 11 last week but fell from #2 to #3 among defenses. They haven't had any big games in a while, but there doesn't seem to be much better available out there. The Jets have had some high scoring games this year but I'm hoping that their ability to stop the run will lead to good things for the Titans.

Sitting at #2

I totally screwed up my WRs, but I managed to get the win behind strong performances from Tyler Thigpen and Marion Barber. There were only 5 teams I would have beaten this week, so I was pretty lucky that the current #2 seed was among them. Matt Hasselbeck had a rough game in his first week back, throwing three interceptions to go with one touchdown. Trent Edwards did the same, but ran for a TD so I should have used him. I'm glad I've got Edwards's back up, but I'm concerned about the possibility that the Seahawks will give up on the season and bench Hasselbeck.

Lance Moore had a great game (21 points) and seriously outscored Marques Colston (4 points), who had a poor game. I'd thought about using Moore instead of Mark Bradley (6) of Hasselbeck (10) and wish I'd done either. I did not consider using Marvin Harrison, who scored 17. I'm not sure whether I'll feel comfortable playing Harrison, but I'd like to. Deion Branch had a solid 7 points in his first game back from his second injury of the season. I'd like to think he might become a possible starter this season. Since I would only have to give up my 17th round pick to keep him, I really want to see him establish himself as being a big bargain then.

Matt Spaeth, the Pittsburgh TE I picked up since I don't trust Owen Daniels while Sage Rosenfels is the QB, scored 8 for me. I'm not sure whether Heath Miller will be back for Pittsburgh, so I might need to find someone else for this week. Joe Nedney only scored 5 as the 49ers rushed to a 35-3 lead over the Rams and then didn't bother trying to score again. I'll try to get Gostkowski back, but I've got a late pick and if anyone else wants him, it'll be hard for me to get him.

The only movement I'm really looking to make is to add Pierre Thomas, RB NO, who was waived last week. Tatum Bell, RB Den did okay in his first week with the team, but only scored 3 while Thomas had a huge game. I don't think I'll be able to get him. I might try to change TEs, possibly back to John Carlson of Seattle, but they have a kind of tough match up next week.

Week 11

I'm playing against the current #2 seed; a win would make me the #2 seed. I made some moves and I'll go through them as I do the lineup decisions.

QB: Tyler Thigpen, KC vs NO, Trent Edwards, BUF vs CLE, Matt Hasselbeck, SEA vs ARI, J.P. Losman, BUF vs CLE. I waived JaMarcus Russell, QB Oak to add Losman. Edwards has had a couple of rough games and I wanted to have his backup in case he got pulled. Thigpen has had three straight good games and has a good match up, so I'm definitely going to use him. I'm leaning towards Hasselbeck over Edwards because the Cardinals have given up a lot of TD passes. Russell was claimed by my this week opponent; I sure do hope he doesn't do well enough that he would consider starting him against me in the playoffs.

RB: Adrian Peterson, MIN at TB, Marion Barber, DAL at WAS, Kevin Faulk, NE vs NYJ, Chester Taylor, MIN at TB, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE vs NYJ, Tatum Bell, DEN at ATL. I don't love either Peterson or Barber's match up, but I'm definitely going with them. I do hope Romo's return helps Barber. Faulk scored 9 and Green-Ellis 0 against the Jets. It seems that perhaps the return of Sammy Morris may leave Green-Ellis with no value. Of course, Morris didn't do much either; the Jets have a tough run defense. I waived Fred Taylor, Jax for Bell. I'm not sure that Bell will do much but I couldn't see myself ever feeling good about playing Taylor.

WR: Lance Moore, NO at KC, Matt Jones, JAC vs TEN, Marvin Harrison, IND vs HOU, Mark Bradley, KC vs NO, Josh Morgan, SF vs STL (OUT), Marques Colston, NO at KC, Deion Branch, SEA vs ARI. I let go of Devin Hester, Chi and Joey Galloway, TB and added Bradley and Morgan; I would have kept Galloway and not Morgan but I had to remove Hasselbeck from IR and could put Morgan there since he is out. Jones is Questionable, so I won't play him. Harrison could benefit from a nice match up and injuries to the other WRs on Indy, but I'm still not seriously considering him. Branch is expected to play but I'm not going to play him until he puts up some numbers. That leave Colston, Moore, and Bradley. Colston is a sure thing and I'm leaning Bradley.

TE: Owen Daniels, HOU at IND, Matt Spaeth, PIT vs SD. I had originally added John Carlson, TE Sea but then switched to Spaeth. I'm nervous about Daniels while Sage Rosenfels is the QB for the Texans. I didn't want to put too many eggs on Hasselbeck in his first game back. Spaeth is the back up to Heath Miller, who is out with an injury. He had a good game last week and San Diego has regularly given up points to TEs.

PK: Joe Nedney, SF vs StL. I was concerned about the match up of Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs NYJ, so I picked up Nedney in his place. Gostkowski scored 13, so I'm almost certain to lose on this one.

TM: Tennessee Titans at Jax. I don't love this match up, but I couldn't find anyone to pick up that I preferred for the week.

Division clinched

I'm at 7-3 and the next two teams in my division are 3-7 after both losing again. With only three weeks to go in the regular season, that means I've clinched the division. That is a huge relief. I did have the third highest score of the week and would have beaten the team I play this week, the one other team at 7-3. He obviously needs the game a lot more than I do, I think he has just a one game lead in the division. However, a win for me gets me a lot closer to a bye in the first week of the playoffs.

Despite this, I'm looking at possibly making a lot of moves to my roster. Owen Daniels only caught one pass last week but he was thrown to six times. Therefore, I'm not desperate to add another TE, but I would like to do so. Gostkowski has been solid; his seven points last week were his least in the last 3. Still, I'm not convinced I'm going to stick with him; they play the Jets this week who held the Saints to 3 points last week. I might look to add Joe Nedney, PK SF, who plays against those same Rams. The Titans had another solid game with 9 points, but that's the most they've scored in the last three weeks. I'm considering adding the 49ers going against the Rams or the Colts against Houston (where Sage Rosenfels was intercepted four times last week).

I also plan to let JaMarcus Russell go (my third round pick, sigh) and pick up J.P. Losman, QB Buf. Trent Edwards has been struggling of late and I want to be ready if he gets yanked. I've put in a claim for Payton Hillis, RB Den if he's still there when I pick (10th). I've decided I'd let Fred Taylor go even though he finally scored some points last week. Hillis is my second choice; the first is Mark Bradley, WR KC. I've got a number of other WRs I would add; I'm still concerned about Matt Jones and don't have a lot of good feelings about playing Marques Colston, WR NO and Lance Moore, WR NO. My third choice is Kevin Boss, TE NYG. If I'm going to add a TE and defense, I'm going to need to let some WRs go; I'm not sure who I'd cut but Devin Hester, Chi and Joey Galloway, TB are at the top of the list. If Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea and Deion Branch, WR Sea both play, I'll need to waive someone to clear a roster spot for Hasselbeck. It could be a very different roster by the end of the week.

A win!

Another win for me this week, pushing me to 7-3. Both of the 3-6 teams in my division are trailing but their games aren't over. If they both lose, I'll clinch the division. The other two division leaders started the week 7-2 and played each other. I play the one that seems likely to lose the game. The top two division winners get a bye for the first week of the playoffs. It looks as though winning out would guarantee me that bye.

QB: Tyler Thigpen, KC put up 3 TDs for 35 points. He did miss on the two-point conversion that would have won the game for the Chiefs, but his big performance essentially cemented the win for me. Trent Edwards, Buf had a poor game and put up just 8 points. That's two rough games in a row and he really hasn't been all that good since returning from his concussion. To beat the big boys, I'm going to need two QBs. I can't rely on Hasselbeck returning, so I'm really hoping to see a good game from Edwards next week against the Browns. JaMarcus Russell, Oak and Matt Hasselbeck, Sea both didn't play due to injury. My opponent got 14 from Brett Favre, NYJ and -1 from Marc Bulger, StL. He didn't have Matt Schaub, Hou, who is injured.

RB: Marion Barber, Dal was on bye. Adrian Peterson, Min came through big with 224 combined yards and a TD for 29 points. I was really uncertain who to play to replace Barber among the other four. I went with BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE over Kevin Faulk, NE, with Chester Taylor, Min my third choice and Fred Taylor, Jax fourth. Well, Fred Taylor had 80 yards rushing, 17 receiving and scored 9. Chester Taylor had a long TD catch and scored 19 in a game that seems like the Vikings should have won more handily than they did (they gave up an interception return for a TD and a punt return for a TD to keep the Packers in the game). Kevin Faulk scored 0, so I'm really glad I kept him out. Green-Ellis actually ran for 105 and a TD and scored 16, so that worked out really well for me. However, my 45 points from the RBs was drubbed by the opponent who got 32 from Thomas Jones, NYJ and 22 from Brandon Jacobs, NYG. In a way, him having Jones and Favre probably limited his upside. He didn't play Willis McGahee, Bal, who scored 23.

WR: I knew I was going to play Marques Colston, NO but couldn't decide between Matt Jones, Jax and Lance Moore, NO. Colston caught 7 for 140 for 17 points. I ended up playing Jones and he scored 8 before leaving with a (I believe, anyway) minor injury that wasn't worth playing through in a game the Jaguars were winning handily. Lance Moore caught a garbage time TD to end up with 16 points, so this one I got wrong. Still, I'll gladly take 8 points from a WR. Many of my other guys didn't play due to bye or injury. Devin Hester, Chi put up 7 and Marvin Harrison, Ind scored 4 and may have left the game with an injury. He would have to have a really good game before I'd even consider playing him again and I'm almost ready to drop him. I'd probably drop Hester first, though. My opponent got 14 from Roddy White, Atl and 6 from Donald Driver, GB. I'm always really excited to win at WR.

TE: Owen Daniels, Hou, scored just 1 on one catch for 13 yards. I'll probably try to pick up another TE to play until Matt Schaub comes back. However, I did notice that one of Sage Rosenfels interceptions was a pass to Daniels in the end zone. An extra seven points would have me feeling very differently about this. My opponent got 0 from Chris Baker, NYJ. He had Jason Witten, Dal on bye. I think I lost more with not having Barber than he did in the Cowboys having a bye, so I'm not going to feel bad about this.

PK: I got this one wrong also. I played John Kasay, Car who scored 4 as the Panthers did not roll over Oakland as expected. I could have had 7 from Stephen Gostkowski, NE. I will probably go with Gostkowski the rest of the way. My opponent got 9 from Jeff Reed, Pit.

TM: The Titans continue to be solid, but I probably ought to look into giving myself another option. They scored 9 and had a dropped interception that probably would have been a TD and another 8 points. My opponent got -3 from the Eagles going against the Giants and Brandon Jacobs.

I put up 127 and I've got to feel good about that. It'll probably end up as the second or third highest score of the week. I've had two straight good weeks and might just be peaking as the playoffs approach. I do have a tough opponent next week and my guys seem to have some tough match ups. Still, I may already have clinched the division and hence a seed of at least 3.

Week 10 lineup decisions

I'm still hoping to get some players healthy, but I feel pretty good about my team this week.

QB: Trent Edwards, BUF at NE, JaMarcus Russell, OAK vs CAR, Tyler Thigpen, KC at SD, M. Hasselbeck, SEA at MIA (out and on IR for me). Russell was terrible last week and has a very tough match up. Edwards hasn't been playing so well, but I'm keeping him in. Thigpen has played well the last two weeks. San Diego is at home off its bye, so that's discouraging, but they haven't played good defense this year and now have a new defensive coordinator.

RB: Marion Barber, DAL on bye, Adrian Peterson, MIN vs GB, Kevin Faulk, NE vs BUF, Chester Taylor, MIN vs GB, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE vs BUF, Fred Taylor, JAC at DET. Peterson has a nice match up and had a nice game last week. I really am not sure who I'll play out of the last four, though the Taylor's are unlikely to be chosen. I'm leaning Faulk now, but I'm not sure. One good thing, Buffalo's defense is suffering a lot from injury.

WR: Matt Jones, JAC at DET, Lance Moore, NO at ATL, Marvin Harrison, IND at PIT, Devin Hester, CHI vs TEN, Joey Galloway, TB on bye, Marques Colston, NO at ATL, Deion Branch, SEA at MIA. Harrison has had three straight bad games and has a tough opponent. The Bears are probably going to use Rex Grossman at QB against a tough D. Branch may play this week, but I don't really expect to play him until Hasselbeck is back from injury. So, that leaves Jones and the two Saints. I'm leaning towards Jones and Colston, but I'm not sure how this one will end up.

TE: Owen Daniels, HOU vs BAL. Not necessarily a good match up, but he is the #1 TE in all the land so far and I'm going to stick with him.

PK: Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs BUF, John Kasay, CAR at OAK. The Panthers should blow out the Raiders, but is that good? I'm not so sure what will happen in the Pats game; if it is low scoring, I'd like not to have a third player in the game. Still not sure what I'll do.

TM: Tennessee Titans at Chi. Really happy to see Grossman or an injured Orton playing QB here.

Week 10 player moves

This week is the trade deadline. I don't see making any moves. The last trade I made hasn't worked out so well for me, though mostly I'm smarting over keeping J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF, since benched by them and waived by me, over Tim Hightower, RB Az, now the #1 back in Az. I replaced the IR'd Michael Pittman, RB Den with BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB NE; he and Kevin Faulk, RB NE both had 11 points last week. I also replace Jason Hill, WR SF with John Kasay, PK Car. They play Oakland this week, which seems like a pretty nice match up. The Patriots play Buffalo, so I'm a little less confident in Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE. If I go with Gostkowski, I'll probably waive Kasay and add Mike Walker, WR Jax. He had a good game the last time he played and has been out with an injury for a month or so.

Waiving Pittman left me with no one in the Thursday Denver-Cleveland game and my opponent doesn't have anyone either, so I'll just go on as though the games begin on Sunday.

Week 9

Sorry to have not written more during the week. I let the benched J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF go and picked up Tyler Thigpen, QB KC. He scored the most points for my team this week; unfortunately, I had him on the bench. I also waived Josh Morgan, WR SF and Javon Walker, WR Oak and added Jason Hill, WR SF and Devin Hester, WR Chi. I played Hester and he scored 6, but I should have used Rashied Davis, WR Chi, who is a free agent and score double digit points. I ended up with a 99-94 win and a big part of that was 18 points from Owen Daniels, TE Hou. He is now the #1 TE in the league and I'm starting to think of him as a possible keeper for next ear. I played three RBs and got good production from Kevin Faulk, RB NE again, though Marion Barber, RB Dal had a rough game. I sure do hope Tony Romo is back after the bye. Adrian Peterson, RB Min had 19 points and was my highest scoring starter. JaMarcus Russell, QB Oak only scored 2 points on the bench. There were a number of QB injuries this week and if I can get one of the new starters, I'll be replacing Russell. My top choice is Sage Rosenfels, QB Hou, who I would have picked up if I hadn't gotten Thigpen. Michael Pittman, RB Den was put on IR, so I need to waive him. I'm not sure what RB I'd like to add, so I may just reclaim Kenny Watson, RB Cin. The Titans D put up 9 against the Packers and remain the #1 defense. I am thinking of adding someone else, though. They play the Bears this week and Rex Grossman will be the starting QB for the Bears as Kyle Orton was injured. I think that means good turnover opportunities, so I'll probably stick with the Titans.

Disappointing week 8

I'm down 64-82. My opponent has Chris Johnson, RB Ten, who will score at least 16 points against the bad Colts running defense. I've got the Titans D.

QB: Trent Edwards put up just 10 against the Dolphins when I was really expecting a lot. I also had high hopes for J.T. O'Sullivan against the Seahawks. He was yanked at the half after scoring just 3 points. JaMarcus Russell scored 17 against the Ravens. My opponent also had his highest scoring QB on the bench or I could have been even further behind.

RB: Marion Barber put up 12 as the only offensive option for the Cowboys against the Buccaneers. Kevin Faulk scored an amazing 18 as the top option against the Rams. This was essentially the only call I got right, as Fred Taylor scored just 2 points on 8 carries against the Browns.

WR: As part of my 49ers meltdown, Josh Morgan caught no balls against the Seahawks. Marques Colston caught 2 for 56 for 6 points against the Chargers and I will expect much better for him after their bye week next week. Meanwhile, Lance Moore scored 18, which makes me think he could continue to be usable even when Colston is back to form. Meanwhile, Matt Jones scored 21 against the Browns. I sure do hope he doesn't go on suspension next week. Javon Walker put up just 3 points against the Ravens. Joey Galloway did come back from injury to play against the Cowboys and scored 4. Deion Branch didn't play and Marvin Harrison plays for my bench tonight.

TE: The Texans passed the ball like mad against the Bengals, but Owen Daniels put up just 3 points for me. I didn't expect a lot, but I definitely was hoping for more.

PK: Stephen Gostkowski scored 12 agianst the Rams, making three of three field goals. Joe Nedney, who I kept from the opponent, scored 9 on the waiver wire. Sebastian Janikowski scored just 4 for my opponent. I guess that's two I got right.

TM: Go Titans!

It sure looks like I should have traded O'Sullivan and not Hightower.

Week 8 opponent analysis

This is the team with the first pick. He took Tom Brady with that pick and had Tony Romo as a keeper. He's obviously having a tough season and I'd really like to continue that for another week.

QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Cin at Hou and Brad Johnson, Dal vs TB. Fitzpatrick hasn't done much in a handful of starts and Johnson was terrible last week. Johnson has a tough match up but Fitzpatrick's match up is favorable. I like my chances of winning the position with Edwards and O'Sullivan. He also has Matt Ryan, Atl at Phi, who is his best QB but does have a tough match up. Still, I'd probably use him rather than Johnson.

RB: Chris Johnson, Ten vs Ind and Marshawn Lynch, Buf at Mia. Two good players with good match ups. With Peterson on bye and being completely unsure what to expect from Kevin Faulk, I think I'll lose this position. He also has Willie Parker, Pit vs NYG, but doubtful, LeRon McClain, Bal vs Oak, Deuce McAllister, NO vs SD, and T.J. Duckett, Sea at SF. I'd probably be starting McClain or McAllister if I had them.

WR: Andre Johnson, Hou vs Cin and Lee Evans, Buf at Mia. I'm a bit miffed to go against Evans who is Edwards' top receiver. Johnson is on an excellent run the last few weeks, but the Bengals do have a decent pass defense. Among others, he has Eddie Royal, Den on bye and Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ vs KC but questionable. I reckon I have to call this position a likely loss as well.

TE: Heath Miller, Pit vs NYG. Miller hasn't done much this year and the Giants are tough, but I can't count on him doing nothing. Daniels, my TE, is facing the Bengals, so I can't expect a huge game from him. This position will probably be close.

PK: Sebastian Janikowski, Oak at Bal. I succeeded in keeping him from getting Nedney and he took Janikowski. He won last week's game with a 57-yarded, which you have to like. Still, the Raiders haven't been scoring all that many points and they play a tough opponent. Of course, that could mean field goal opportunities replace extra point opportunities. I'm going to expect to win this position.

TM: San Francisco 49ers vs Sea. This is a good choice for the one week since the Seahawks are fairly pathetic on offense without Hasselbeck. I expect them to be able to run the ball though. If the 49ers can score a bunch of points behind O'Sullivan, then the Seahawks can probably score some garbage time points. I wish the Titans weren't facing the Colts. I really don't know what to think of this position.

Whether I will win or not seems to depend on how much I win by at the QB position. I'm probably not going to pick against myself, but I wish the Broncos weren't on bye this week or that Colston had proven he was back to himself last week.

I wasn't in time to claim Nate Washington so I picked up Javon Walker, WR Oak instead. He had a big game last week and could be worth something if Russell improves.

I contacted this owner about possibly trading Lynch and Evans for Barber. I like the Bills' schedule for the end of the season a lot more than the Cowboys'. I'm not 100% sure I'd do such a deal, but I'm curious what he will have to say. I'd certainly like to get Romo as well, but that is probably less likely.

Week 8 Lineup Decisions

For some reason, the lineup decisions aren't getting easier like I'd hoped they would.

QB: Trent Edwards, Buf at Mia, J.T. O'Sullivan, SF vs Sea, JaMarcus Russell, Oak at Bal, Matt Hasselbeck, Sea, out. Edwards and O'Sullivan seem like good plays this week and I'm playing them. I've heard suggestions that Russell could have a good week also. Maybe if does, I'll try to move him.

RB: Marion Barber, Dal vs TB, Adrian Peterson, Min on bye, Michael Pittman, Den on bye, Kevin Faulk, NE vs StL, Chester Taylor, Min on bye, Fred Taylor, Jax vs Cle. Barber has a tough match up but I'm not taking him out. I'm having a hard time deciding between Faulk and Fred Taylor. I'm leaning Faulk now; I wish I had any idea how much either one would get the ball.

WR: Marvin Harrison, Ind at Ten, Matt Jones, Jax vs Cle, Lance Moore, NO vs SD (in London), Josh Morgan, SF vs Sea, Joey Galloway, TB at Dal, Deion Branch, Sea, out, Marques Colston, NO vs SD (in London). Harrison has a rough match up which is against my D, so I'm almost certainly keeping him out. Jones seems to have escaped being suspended for this week, so I might play him. I think the Jaguars will run a lot and not pass much, but that could be over-thinking it. Last year's game in London was a mud-fest and that would hurt passing attacks. I expect to play Colston again but not Moore until I see him do something with Colston back in his usual role. Morgan has a good match up but has been in the news with some injury concerns. Galloway seems to be a game time decision. I'm leaning Colston and Morgan right now, but Jones might get in for Morgan.

TE: Owen Daniels, Hou vs Cin. It's not a great match up, but he's actually the #2 TE after last week's big game and I'm not taking him out.

PK: Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs StL, Joe Nedney, SF vs Sea. I just picked up Nedney to keep my opponent from adding him and playing him. I'm going to let him go tomorrow, when he'll still be on waivers when the game begins. I could switch and do that with Gostkowski instead, but with the Niners on bye next week, I'd rather have Gostkowski.

TM: Tennessee Titans vs Ind. I'm not super thrilled about playing against the Colts on Monday Night Football, but they're a good D and the Packers put up good points against them last week.

When I cut Nedney, my current plan is to pick up Nate Washington, WR Pit. Santonio Holmes, WR Pit was picked up on marijuana possession, so Washington could become a starter. Of course, I could pick up Hester again, but he's on bye so I'm willing to wait.

Claims period, week 8

I added Josh Morgan, WR SF at the expense of Devin Hester, WR Chi. I might want to add Hester back, but I don't think he'll get claimed this week with the Bears on bye. I also found out that Mike Walker, WR Jax is out "indefinitely", so I will waive him. I was thinking about bringing Hester back, but I think I'll try to add Joe Nedney, PK SF. He's the top free agent available and my opponent needs a kicker and didn't add Nedney during the claims period. I'm not sure if I'll be able to beat him to Nedney, but I'm going to try.

A win!

As I feared, someone had their score altered between the unofficial live stats and the official final stats. Fortunately, his Packers D lost 2 points and I ended up with the win. I moved up to 5-2 and kept my two game lead; two teams in the division are 3-4 and the other 2-5.

Devin Hester, WR Chi left the game with an injury. It's not clear how serious it is, but he's on bye next week and so I'll probably try to replace him. The Vikings and Broncos are on bye next week also, so my RBs for next week are currently Marion Barber, Dal vs TB, Kevin Faulk, NE vs StL, and Fred Taylor, Jax vs Cle. I really like the match ups for Faulk and Taylor, but I'm not excited about relying on either. Taylor had a concussion the week before and Faulk only got 4 carries even after Sammy Morris went down with a knee injury. Still, he did go for 50 yards on those four carries. I put in a claim for the rookie who got 13 carries for the Pats after Morris's injury. I would expect not to get him, but there is some chance.

Matt Jones, WR Jax vs Cle is facing a three game suspension related to his cocaine possession arrest over the summer. He's got good match ups for the next three weeks, so I hope he can postpone the suspension until Mike Walker, WR Jax vs Cle can return from his injury. Marques Colston, WR NO vs SD (in London) and Lance Moore, WR NO vs SD (in London) have a good match up. I wish I could trust either one to get some passes.

Mike Nolan, the coach of the 49ers, speculated about benching J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF vs Sea. Then Nolan got fired. No word yet on whether Mike Singletary will keep O'Sullivan at QB. The match up is so good; I really, really hope he keeps the job for the one week. Also, I traded Tim Hightower, RB Az instead of O'Sullivan last week. I could have had Reggie Wayne for O'Sullivan and Michael Pittman, RB Den instead of Colston for Warrick Dunn, RB TB and Hightower. I would have gotten two points from Wayne instead of 0 from Colston and had a win even without the Packers D being re-scored.

Comeback for a tie?

The scores are not official, but I was down 8 after Sunday's games with Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE and Michael Pittman, RB Den going against Jay Cutler, QB Den. Cutler got dinged up early in the game, but had a garbage time TD and scored 12. The Broncos got down big, so didn't run the ball much in the second half, but Pittman scored 8 on 20 carries for 88 yards. Gostkowski had a performance like last year, getting 5 extra points, and two field goals, one of 40 yards, so 12 total points. Therefore, it's a tie for now, but it's always possible that someone has their score adjusted by one point, which would decide the game.

After Sunday afternoon, Week 7

My opponent did have a mediocre game, so I'm not out of it yet, but my chances aren't very good.

QB: Trent Edwards put up 21 points, which I'm very glad about. But on my bench, J.T O'Sullivan put up 22 and JaMarcus Russell 17. I really wish I had gone with O'Sullivan as my flex. Eli Manning put up just 15 and he has Jay Cutler going tomorrow. On his bench, Aaron Rogers put up 17.

RB: My guys came through for me. Adrian Peterson had 25 and Marion Barber 15. Chester Taylor had another 16 backing up Peterson and I wish I had played him at flex. Instead, my flex is Michael Pittman, playing for Denver tomorrow. I also have Kevin Faulk for NE, but I don't really expect to swap them. My opponent got just 5 from Reggie Bush and 7 from Frank Gore, so this position was a big win for me, which I did not expect. He had DeAngelo Williams with 12 on his bench.

WR: This did not work out well despite my big trade to get WRs. Marques Colston didn't catch a single pass. I need to look into why. Marvin Harrison caught just 2 for 11 yards, so earned just 2 points. My bench wasn't much better; Devin Hester scored 3, Lance Moore 2. I'm curious to see what Joey Galloway does tonight. I read that Matt Jones may be suspended by the league. My opponent got 25 from Calvin Johnson and 15 from Santana Moss, completely wiping out my advantage at the RB position. (By the by, Vincent Jackson scored 15 after I traded him, so I'm definitely not coming out ahead on this deal so far.)

TE: I was right to expect a lot from Owen Daniels; he scored 21. I had hoped Tony Gonzalez wouldn't do anything for my opponent, but he got 12, so it wasn't as big a win as I'd hoped.

PK: I've got Gostkowski going tomorrow. My opponent got just 4 from Kris Brown of Houston.

TM: The Titans blew out the Chiefs but the D only scored me 11 points because they didn't force any turnovers. The Packers were able to put up 20 points against the Colts by returning two interceptions for touchdowns. I had really hoped to win this position, but I was pretty far down.

So, I'm down 95-103 after Sunday's games. I have Gostkowski and Pittman against Cutler. There is a chance that I win, but I wouldn't expect to.

Week 7 Lineup decisisions

The deal went through, changing my lineup decisions. I think it makes me a lot better this year, though not having Hightower definitely makes me less good in the following years.

QB: Trent Edwards, Buf vs SD, J.T. O'Sullivan, SF at NYG, JaMarcus Russell, Oak vs NYJ, Matt Hasselbeck, Sea out. I'm expecting a good game from Edwards. O'Sullivan has a tough match up; the Giants should be eager to prove that last week's game against Cleveland was an aberration. Russell has a pretty good match up, but I need to see him have a good game under the new coach before I play him.

RB: Marion Barber, Dal at StL, Adrian Peterson, Min at Chi, Michael Pittman, Den at NE, Kevin Faulk, NE vs Den, Chester Taylor, Min at Chi, Fred Taylor, Jax on bye. Barber is obvious, Peterson has a tough match up, but he did well against Chicago last year and I think I need to keep him in. Pittman should be the one RB for the Broncos this week again, though it kind of makes me sick to my stomach to rely on a should from the Broncos running game. He's the flex for this week. Faulk just joined the team and I'm considering waiving him to reclaim Kenny Watson, RB Cin, but I'm also considering playing him at flex since Denver's run defense is so bad. I certainly hope Chester Taylor won't do much this week. Fred Taylor had a concussion last week; I've got no idea if he'll be worth anything this year. But, I'm reluctant to let him go right now.

WR: Marvin Harrison, Ind at GB, Lance Moore, NO at Car, Matt Jones, Jax on bye, Devin Hester, Chi vs Min, Mike Walker, Jax on bye, Joey Galloway, TB vs Sea, Deion Branch, Sea out, Marques Colston, NO at Car. The Panthers have a good D against the pass but Colston seems to be 100% and I can't imagine not playing him. Moore was putting up good numbers with Colston out, but I need to see him play with Colston before I consider putting him in. Harrison had a great game last week and I am planning to keep him in even though GB has a decent pass D. Galloway might actually be back from his injury this week. Branch isn't.

TE: Owen Daniels, Hou vs Det. I'm expecting him to do really well this week.

PK: Stephen Gostkowski, NE vs Den. I am probably playing against Cutler, so I'm hoping for a 23-20 win by NE with Pittman scoring at least one of the TDs.

TM: Tennessee Titans at KC. This should be a good scoring opportunity for me.

If the opponent has a good game, then I probably can't win. But, if he has a mediocre game, I probably have a chance. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Colston brings to the table.

Made a deal

I gave up:
Warrick Dunn, RB TB (free agent pickup, wouldn't probably ever have played for me)
Tim Hightower, RB Az (It kills me to give him up, he's a great keeper candidate)
Vincent Jackson, WR SD (could be my best guy, but I'm definitely upgrading)
Rashied Davis, WR Chi (just balancing the numbers, basically)

and get:
Kevin Faulk, RB NE (not a target, but he does have a good match up this week)
Fred Taylor, RB Jax (could be done, but maybe a decent replacement for Dunn
Lance Moore, WR NO (with Patten and Colston coming back, he might be useless)
Marques Colston, WR NO (Yeah!)

The trade was consummated at 7:14 pm Eastern tonight (Saturday) and has now been offered to the owners to challenge. This seems unlikely, so the trade should go through at 10:14 am tomorrow. I'll have to make some lineup decisions then and I'll try to post about them tomorrow morning.

Week 7 Opponent Analysis

This week I'm playing the highest scoring team in the league. He's at 5-1 and I'm at 4-2 and really would like to break my two game losing streak.

QB: Jay Cutler, Den at NE, Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. Ind, Eli Manning, NYG vs SF, and Drew Stanton, Det at Hou. Stanton is likely to take over as QB in Detroit, but he probably won't play much for this team. Maybe Cutler has a tough matchup and maybe Eli is somewhat injured, but he'll certainly be playing two very good QBs.

RB: Frank Gore, SF at NYG, Reggie Bush, NO at Car, DeAngelo Williams, Car vs NO, Edgerrin James, AZ on bye. He'll almost certainly play Gore and Bush. Maybe they have tough matchups, but it's hard to imagine both of them having poor games.

WR: Santana Moss, Was vs Cle and Calvin Johnson, Det at Hou. He has some other guys, but he won't play them. Moss has had a couple of down games and Johnson lost his QB, so maybe he won't do much at this position.

TE: Tony Gonzalez, KC vs Ten, Vernon Davis, SF at NYG. Gonzalez has a tough matchup and Davis hasn't done much this season, though he did have a good game last week. I like my chances of winning this position.

PK: Right now his only kicker is Neal Rackers, Az on bye. I'm sure he'll pick up someone before the game, but it'll be a crap shoot, just like me going with Gostkowski.

TM: Green Bay Packers vs Ind. I'm glad the Packers have a tough match up. If he doesn't add a different D, then I might be able to come out way ahead here and have some chance if I can keep close at QB and RB.

Player movement, week 7

I picked up Rashied Davis, WR Chi to replace the Jets D and Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE to replace Shaun Suisham, PK Was. I've been offering Michael Pittman, RB Den, Warrick Dunn, RB TB, and Marvin Harrison, WR Ind to try to pick up a top WR. I thought this would be pretty attractive but I haven't gotten any takers yet. I did get a counter offer asking for J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF, Pittman, and Harrison for Reggie Wayne, WR Ind, Brodie Croyle, QB KC, and Laurence Maroney, RB NE. I'm not excited about this offer, but Wayne is a big upgrade and Croyle is a starting QB when he is healthy. Maroney hasn't been healthy all year but if he did return to health he could be valuable.

Post Week 6

My second loss in a row drops me to 4-2. However, the teams in my division are also struggling. Two are at 2-4 and one at 1-5. So, I've only lost one game of my lead despite losing two games in a row. Positive signs from this week were good performances from Marion Barber, RB Dal, Marvin Harrison, WR Ind, and Vincent Jackson, WR SD. Bad signs were me benching the last two of those and also relatively poor performances from Tim Hightower, RB Az and Adrian Peterson, RB Min. Peterson has slipped to now being the #15 RB in the league.

QB: Matt Hasselbeck, Sea was kept out by injury and may miss even more time. Trent Edwards, Buf was on bye, which gave him more time to recover from his injury. He should be good to go next week. J.T. O'Sullivan did have the rough game I anticipated against Philadelphia and only scored 7. JaMarcus Russell, Oak had a much rougher game against New Orleans than I had hoped, only scoring 5.

RB: Marion Barber, Dal was huge, with 28 points. He scored on a 70-yard play that began as a screen pass. He was both overpowering and fast on the play and it seems to indicate the he is totally healthy. Tony Romo, QB Dal will miss three games or so with a broken pinkie. That should mean more carries for Barber, especially as Felix Jones, RB Dal will miss at least a couple of weeks with injury as well. However, the Cowboys made a crazy trade to acquire Roy Williams, WR, previously of Det, which makes me wonder just how much they actually are going to run the ball.

Adrian Peterson, Min broke 100 yards for the first time in a few weeks, but didn't score, and lost two fumbles, against a poor Detroit defense. I am concerned about him. However, in the playoffs, he gets the Lions, Cardinals, and Falcons, so I'm definitely holding on to him. I don't think I need to sell out to get to the playoffs since I do have a decent lead in the division.

Warrick Dunn, TB and Michael Pittman, Den were the top RBs for their teams this week, putting up 13 and 12 points, respectively. I'm not sure whether that can continue, so I've already offered the two up in trades. Tim Hightower, Az had only 6, but that was the most among Arizona RBs as the Cowboys did a decent job of stopping the run. Chester Taylor, Min also scored 6.

WR: Marvin Harrison, Ind caught two TDs and scored 22 points. Vincent Jackson, SD caught for 135 yards and a TD and scored 21 points. I don't trust either of them; Harrison caught just 3 passes and the Chargers played without their usual #1 WR, Chris Chambers. I included Harrison in the trade offers I made. I played Matt Jones, Jax, who scored 9, and Devin Hester, Chi, who scored 11. I'm pretty pleased with the production I did get from this position. My other three WRs, Mike Walker, Jax, Joey Galloway, TB, and Deion Branch, Sea, all did not play due to injury.

TE: Owen Daniels, Hou, scored 9. I feel pretty confident playing him while Matt Schaub is at QB for the Texans. John Carlson, Sea, who I waived last week, caught a TD and scored 10, I think, but the Seahawks passing attack was terrible without Hasselbeck and I think I made a decent choice.

PK: The Redskins made a pretty weak effort and lost to the Rams. I had expected good things from Shuan Suisham, Was, but got just 5 points.

TM: The New York Jets did a pretty good job of shutting down the Bengals and scored 15. Other Ds did better, but I feel pretty good about how this one week fill-in performed. Now that the Titans bye is past, I will probably keep them in most every week. This week they get the Chiefs and are definitely in.

Pre-Week 6

I'm going to be away this weekend and probably won't get a chance to blog, so I'm going to run with the lineup decisions and opponent analysis now.

QB: J.T. O'Sullivan vs Phi, Trent Edwards, Buf on bye, JaMarcus Russell at NO, Matt Hasselbeck vs GB. I'm glad Edwards has his bye now to recover from his concussion last week. Hasselbeck seems likely not to play with some injury. I normally play two QBs, so it would seem I know which two. However, O'Sullivan has what seems like a really tough matchup, so I'm leaning towards leaving him on the bench. My opponent has Jake Delhomme, Car at TB and Peyton Manning, Ind vs Bal. They both have tough matchups, so maybe Russell and my flex RB can be comparable, maybe. He also has Tavaris Jackson, Min, who lost the starting job, and Kerry Collins, Ten on bye.

RB: Marion Barber, Dal at Az, Adrian Peterson, Min vs Det, Tim Hightower, Az vs Dal, Warrick Dunn, TB vs Car, Michael Pittman, Den vs Jax, Chester Taylor, Min vs Det. I'm obviously going with Barber and Peterson and they both have good matchups this week, so maybe I'll get some points out of them this week. I'm leaning towards using Hightower over O'Sullivan as my flex; the game could be very high scoring and Hightower has been doing very well lately. Dunn and Pittman both could be in a tough matchup. My opponent has Maurice Jones-Drew, Jax at Den and Michael Turner, Atl vs Chi. Jones-Drew could have a huge game if they keep running the ball, which TB did not do last week - I hate it when coaches fall in love with themselves and don't want to just call basic running plays that will win them the game. Turner has a tougher matchup but will probably play pretty well. I'm hoping to be somewhere near even through these two positions.

WR: Matt Jones, Jax at Den, Vincent Jackson, SD vs NE, Marvin Harrison, Ind vs Bal, Devin Hester, Atl at Chi, Mike Walker, Jax at Den, Joey Galloway, TB (on IR for me, out this week), Deion Branch, Sea at GB (unlikely to play). Walker seems unlikely to play this week, so I'm leaning Jones and Hester. Jackson could be in for a good week since Chris Chambers seems unlikely to play. Still, I like the matchups for Jones and Hester and that is probably the way I'll go. My opponent has Braylon Edwards, Cle vs NYG and Mushin Muhammad, Car at TB. Given that they both have really tough matchups, I actually think I could be close through these positions.

TE: Owen Daniels, Hou vs Mia. Daniels has been producing steadily, so I'm happy to stick with him. My opponent has Zack Miller, Oak at NO. I don't like that he's using a player for my QB, but I think anyway that I'm going to come out ahead here.

PK: Shaun Suishman, Was vs StL. I picked him for the good matchup this week. My opponent has Nick Folk, Dal at Az. I think that will be a high scoring game, but I'm hoping the Cowboys score all TDs and Barber gets in on the action. Anyway, I still think the game will be close so far.

TM: Tennessee Titans on bye, New York Jets vs Cin. Cincinnati is using their backup QB, so I'm really hopeful ot put up some good points here. My opponent has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Car. I really like that he's using two offensive players against his D.

I actually think I could squeak this one out, though a lot depends on Russell and Hightower performing near their best.

Player Movement

I wasn't able to get any of the WRs I wanted, so I ended up with Mike Walker, WR Jax in place of John Carlson, TE Sea. I also replace Rian Lindell, PK Buf with Shaun Suisham, PK Was and the Cowboys D with the Jets D. I'm hoping those two will do well for this one week. I'm planning to keep changing PKs to play matchups. I'll probably let the Jets go after this week and just play the Titans until they have some terrible matchup.

Week 5 wrap

Peterson didn't break his own single game scoring mark. In fact, he only put up 3 points. So, it was a crushing defeat for me.

After Sunday of Week 5

I was right that I would lose. I didn't expect to get creamed by as much as I did.

QB: Trent Edwards was knocked out with a concussion on the third play. A big 0 that I had no chance of recovering from. J.T. O'Sullivan put up 21 despite 3 interceptions; I'm glad I stuck with him as my flex. Matt Hasselbeck only scored 4 before leaving with an injury of his own. Kurt Warner, Az put up 29 against what I had hoped was a good Buffalo defense and David Garrard put up 19 against the Steelers.

RB: Marion Barber put up just 9 in his second straight soft week. Tim Hightower had 16, Warrick Dunn 9, and Michael Pittman 6, so I'm pretty pleased with the backups. I think Hightower has outscored Barber the last two weeks. Peterson and Taylor go tonight. Matt Forte, Chi only ran for 36 yards but scored twice and put up 19 points. Brian Westbrook put up 17. A big game from Peterson could keep me from losing the position, but he'd have to have a pretty good game for me to win by anything significant.

WR: Vincent Jackson put up 6 and Marvin Harrison 5. It certainly seems like I should have taken the Barber for Terrell Owens deal I was offered. Devin Hester scored 12, Deion Branch 4, and Matt Jones 3 on the bench. Hester has scored in two straight weeks and it might be time to insert him into the lineup. Brandon Marshall, Den only scored 3, which makes me feel good about my general opinion that high picks shouldn't be spent on WRs. But Randy Moss, NE scored 20 and destroyed me.

TE: Owen Daniels had a pretty mediocre game, with 6 points. They went to the backup QB and, perhaps, he targeted Daniels less. I'm not sure. Carlson caught no passes; perhaps it is time to cut him loose. Tony Scheffler, Den scored 8 before leaving with an injury.

PK: Rian Lindell scored 6, helped by the Bills kicking a FG that I don't really understand. Shayne Graham, Cin, scored 12. With the Bills on bye next week, I'll be letting Lindell go and moving on.

TM: The Titans scored 12 despite forcing no turnovers. The Cowboys did put up 9, but given what the Cardinals did to a good Buffalo defense, I'm going to have to cut them loose for next week, I think. The Jaguars D put up 9, essentially just the TD on the interception return on the first drive of the game.

So, I'm down 135-65 with Peterson still to go. Peterson has the highest point total put up by a RB in the history of our league, 48 points. So this game is definitely over. I've got to do some work on my WRs and try to figure out if I need to elevate Hightower over Barber. I could look to move him, but I'm not sure what I'd get at this point.

Week 5 Opponent Analysis

QB: Kurt Warner, Az vs Buf and David Garrard, Jax vs. Pit. They both have tough matchups but should have good games. They are almost certainly better than my two guys. I'd expect I'd lose this position but I'm not sure by how much. I'm still toying with the idea of playing Warrick Dunn at flex instead of O'Sullivan or Hasselbeck. He seems to be in line for a big game but it's hard to start a part-time RB over a QB.

RB: Matt Forte, Chi at Det and Brian Westbrook, Phi vs Was. Two good players; Forte has an excellent matchup, Westbrook a tougher but not terrible one. With Westbrook coming off an injury and the suggestion that the Eagles will give the ball to Correll Buckhalter a bit more, he probably won't have a huge game like he is capable of. I really like my two guys this week, but I can't expect to win the position by very much. He has Darren McFadden and Michael Bush of Oak on bye this week.

WR: Brandon Marshall, Den vs TB and Randy Moss, NE at SF. Obviously Marshall has been huge since he missed the first game. The Bucs have played good pass defense but I'd still expect Marshall to get big numbers. Moss hasn't done very much since Brady went down. But, given that the Patriots just had their bye week, I'd expect him to do pretty well. I reckon I'll get killed at this position. He has a lot of people on the bench, none terribly exciting, though including Anthony Gonzalez, Ind at Hou.

TE: Tony Scheffler, Den vs TB. No doubt he will get some numbers. As usual, I don't expect this position to be a difference maker, but it's probably more likely to be a big win for him than for me.

PK: Shayne Graham, Cin at Dal. I'd waive him right now and pick up someone better. Anyway, I think I'll win the position but you can't count on PK being a difference maker.

TM: Jacksonville Jaguars vs Pit. Given Pittsburgh's injuries, this could be a big game for the Jags D. Still, I wouldn't expect to lose the position, just not win by much.

In summary, I expect to get killed due to the difference in WRs. The Bears are talking about giving Kevin Jones so if he and Buckhalter can seriously limit Forte and Westbrooks numbers then I might have a chance. Given this, I should think about the flex spot. Who has the best chance of seriously blowing up and having a huge game: O'Sullivan vs NE, Hasselbeck at NYG, or Dunn at Den. It probably is Dunn but I don't know if I can really put him in when I'm already expecting to lose.

Lineup choices

QB: Edwards at Az, O'Sullivan vs NE, Hasselbeck at NYG. I'm psyched that Hasselbeck has Deion Branch and Bobby Engram back from injury. However, with the tough matchup on the road and in their first game back, I think I'm going to stick with Edwards and O'Sullivan.

RB: Barber vs Cin, Peterson and Taylor at NO, Pittman vs TB, Dunn at Den, Hightower vs Buf. Pretty clear I should stick with Barber and Peterson. None of the others seem worth playing over O'Sullivan, though I thought about it some.

WR: Jones vs Pit, Jackson at Mia, Harrison at Hou, Galloway at Den (but out), Hester at Det, Branch at NYG. Wish Galloway was back. Just added Hester for Josh Reed, WR Buf, but I'm not ready to put him in until I see at least one big game. A similar comment goes for Branch. That narrows it down to three. With Jones having such a tough matchup, I'm pretty sure I'll go with Jackson and Harrison.

TE: Daniels vs Ind, Carlson at NYG. I'd like to see how much Carlson is targeted with real WRs on the team. I'm actually pretty high on Daniels this week.

PK: Lindell at Az. No decision to make here.

TM: Titans at Bal, Cowboys vs Cin. I like both matchups and really wish the Cowboys played the Bengals next week. I think I've got to stick with the Titans.

Player movement

I wanted to get another WR but the guys I really wanted went before I could get them. I got Warrick Dunn, RB TB in place of Josh Morgan, WR SF. Dunn is actually the 28th ranked RB so far. My guys are: Barber 3, Peterson 6, Pittman 26, Dunn 28, Hightower 33, and Taylor 59. I gotta like that.

Unfortunately, someone also took the Redskins D. Right now the plan is to stick with the Cowboys and play them in Week 6 when the Titans are on a bye. They play the Cardinals and that could be a tough match up, so I may end up doing something this week or next.

I got an offer of Terrell Owens, WR Dal for either Barber or Peterson. I couldn't do it. I want to have two RBs I can count on and I don't really care about having a #1 WR. His best RB is Larry Johnson. If he'd offered Johnson and Owens for Barber and someone I would have had to consider it more, but I don't think I want to do it. He has Felix Jones, RB Dal and I'd like a move that netted me Jones and some lower level WR, but I'm not sure how that'd happen. He does have Derrick Mason, WR Bal who is pretty consistent and would be attractive. I offered him Pittman and Jackson for Jones and Mason. Maybe he'll even take it.

After 4 weeks

The Steelers PK scored enough that his team (featuring 6 TDs from Brett Favre) ended up ahead of me, so I only had the second most points on the week. The other team that was 3-0 is now 4-0 as well and still has more points scored than I, though I did gain on them.

In my division, I'm 4-0 and the other three teams are 1-3. It's certainly nice to have opened up a 3 game lead so far. In another division, one team is 4-0, one 2-2, and two 1-3. In the third division, two teams are 3-1, one 2-2, and one 1-3. It will be interesting to see if us two 4-0 teams end up running away with the divisions the way it looks now.

JaMarcus Russel is on bye this coming week so I don't think it makes much sense to offer him around this week. I did get an offer of Terrel Owens, WR Dal for Marion Barber, RB Dal. I've no intention of accepting, but I will see if I can find another WR I can get for cheaper.

The Titans go on bye in Week 6, so I need to make sure I've got a defense to play that week. I want to make sure to get one this week so my opponent can't steal the obvious choice from me next week.

Week 4 wrapup

A weird week, but it's already in the books as a win before Sunday night's game.

QB: I was expecting to win this position and actually did. Trent Edwads put up 23 and J.T. O'Sullivan 15. I'd really hoped for a bigger game from O'Sullivan put can't complain about 15 points. He got 13 from Derek Anderson and 11 from Gus Frerotte, so it was actually a pretty significant win for me, plus 14. JaMarcus Russell did have a good game, putting up 18. I do think I should trade him, but now I'm beginning to think I should think about keeping him and playing him sometimes.

RB: Marion Barber had a bad game, scoring only 4, as the Cowboys fell behind early and abandoned the run. I'm not sure why he didn't catch more passes, but I'm just going to chalk this up as one bad game. Adrian Peterson scored two TDs against my D and ended up with 22 points. The 26 I scored was matched by Steven Jackson; at least his performance came against the opponent's D. Fortunately, I only lost 5 at the position as that is all Fred Taylor put up. Michael Pittman put up 8, Tim Hightower 7, and Chester Taylor 0 as he played sparingly because of an injury. I feel good that my backups performed reasonably. Plus 9 so far.

WR: Matt Jones scored a TD and put up 15. Josh Reed put up only 6 but that's not really so bad. His big name WRs did have nice games. Steve Smith scored 19 and TJ Houshmandzadeh score 8, so minus 6 and plus 3 so far. Vincent Jackson also scored 6 and Josh Morgan put up just 1.

TE: I figured I'd win this one narrowly, but did better than that. Owen Daniels didn't catch any of Schaub's TDs, but he did go for 11 points. Robert Royal only caught 1 pass and scored 0 points, so this was a big win for me and now it's plus 14.

PK: The Bills did put up a lot of points on the Rams and Rian Lindell scored 13 for me, including two 40+ yard field goals worth 4 points. The Titans did control the Vikings and Ryan Longwell scored just 5. Plus 8 here makes plus 22 overall.

TM: My number one Titans D scored 14 against the Vikings, including 4 sacks and 4 forced turnovers. His Bills scored 13 with 2 sacks and 2 forced turnovers, but one interception returned for a TD. The plus 1 here makes plus 23 overall. The Cowboys D scored just 1 and they may be the next cut from my team.

So, a 123-100 win and I've actually got the most points scored for the week so far. We'll see if that holds up through the last two games, but it is certainly very encouraging.

Final decisions for week 4

I've decided to go with Matt Jones and Josh Reed at WR. I also waived Chris Henry, WR Cin and added Josh Morgan, WR SF.

Opponent Analysis

First of the bye weeks and six teams on bye. One of my big advantages last year was I played a lot of good players on their bye week. I plan to keep track of that this year. I'm playing team 11 this week.

QB: Derek Anderson, Cle at Cin and Gus Frerotte, Min at Ten. With Frerotte going against my defense, I'm certainly hoping that he won't do much. I have to say this is the first week where I expect to win this position. He has Matt Cassel, NE on bye and Troy Smith, Bal still injured.

RB: Steven Jackson, StL vs Buf and Fred Taylor, Jax vs Hou. Two good RBs. Jackson plays a tough D and that's why I think I'll win the position. Peterson plays a tough D, too, or I'd feel really good about this. He used his first two picks on Jackson and Joseph Addai, Ind on bye. He also has Julius Jones, Sea on bye and Jones has been a monster so far. He also has Domonic Rhodes, Ind on bye and Jamaal Charles, KC vs Den. Charles will probably take over for Larry Johnson some day but he can't be played now.

WR: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cin vs Cle and Steve Smith, Car vs Atl. Certainly name WRs but neither has done much this year. Housh had an excellent game last week and Smith was so-so in his first game back from suspension. He has Marques Colston, NO vs SF but injured, Ted Ginn, Mia on bye, Santonio Holmes, Pit vs Bal, and Brandon Lloyd, Chi vs Phi. He added Lloyd this week, maybe to keep me from getting him, but he's got injury questions and I'm glad to have Reed this week. He certainly accumulated some name WRs and top guys. I don't expect to win this position, but I don't feel like I'll get creamed.

TE: Robert Royal, Buf at StL. I'm not terribly impressed but he'll be fine. I like my chances but this position won't decide anything. If he does do anything, it negates Edwards, but I can't picture him doing a lot. He has Dallas Clark, Ind on bye.

PK: Ryan Longwell, Min at Ten. Another guy playing my D; I hope he does nothing. Another position that shouldn't be consequential.

TM: Bills at StL. I like that he's playing against his own #1 RB. They should have a good game and maybe outscore the Titans, but not by much.

So I think I'll win, possibly handily.

What I think is interesting here is the contrasting draft strategies. He went with two RBs in the first two rounds while I went for Hasselbeck with the one pick. Now his QBs are pretty weak, while he is strong at RB. I'd rather have the strong QBs and less depth at RB. He also went strong for WRs while I ignored them for a long time. Now he's got good WRs but I still prefer my position. My idea is that JaMarcus Russel has a big game and I trade him to this team for a big improvement at WR.

Lineup decisions

Byes and growing familiarity make lineup decisions less difficult, but I'm still not fully set.

QB: Trent Edwards at StL, J.T O'Sullivan at NO, JaMarcus Russell vs. SD, Matt Hasselbeck on bye. Edwards and O'Sullivan have great matchups and seem like clear choices. I've heard some talk that Russell could have a big game like Favre did last week vs. SD, but I'm more confident in the other two.

RB: Marion Barber vs. Was, Adrian Peterson at Ten, Michael Pittman at KC, Tim Hightower at NYJ, Chester Taylor at Ten. I'm pretty much always going to go with the top two. They both have tough matchups this week but I can't see going to Pittman and his nice matchup ahead of Peterson. Taylor is Questionable so that's all the more reason to stick with Peterson.

WR: Vincent Jackson at Oak, Matt Jones vs. Hou, Marvin Harrison on bye, Josh Reed at StL, Joey Galloway out, Deion Branch on bye, Chris Henry suspended. I'm really not sure which two of the three to use here. The Texans have been the toughest against the pass of the three. The Raiders have one excellent CB (though he has some injury problems) and another, DeAngelo Hall, who has a big reputation but hasn't played well. I wish I knew who was going to cover Jackson. Right now I've got Jackson and Reed, but I'm not certain.

TE: John Carlson on bye, Owen Daniels at Jax. Obviously I'm going Daniels; I thought a tiny bit about picking up another TE, but I'm not sure who I'd want and I'm not sure who I'd let go (though probably Chris Henry).

PK: Rian Lindell at StL. Picked him up for this week.

TM: Titans vs Min, Cowboys vs Was. I wish Tennessee wasn't playing against Peterson, but I think I need to go with them. The Cowboys keep playing shootouts. I'm planning to stick with the Titans until that stops.

Transactions

I made three moves this week. I replaced Kenny Watson, RB Cin with Michael Pittman, RB Den. Pittman was not my first choice at RB, but he gets the goal line carries for a team that is scoring a lot of TDs. He's actually the number .. RB in our scoring system so far. I also replace James Jones, WR GB with Josh Reed, WR Buf. Jones has been hurt and their rookie looked good so Jones might not even reclaim the 3rd WR role when he gets back. Reed has the most catches for the Bills (though no TDs, so Evans has more fantasy points). I'm high on Trent Edwards, so it seems to make sense to add a Bills WR. They have a very nice matchup against the Rams this week, so he might even play. I also replace Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE with Rian Lindell, PK Buf. This is really a one week move since Gostkowski is on bye. I'm a tad concerned that someone else will pick up Gostkowski, but without Brady he doesn't seem like he's someone I need to keep.

Week 3 Round-up

Nate Kaeding, PK SD had an exceptional game, but the Chargers threw deep to Vincent Jackson 3 times and he finally caught one late in the game, going for 61 yards and being tackled at the 2. That was enough, though, to get me the win 119-116. I'm now 3-0 and all the other 3 teams in the division are 1-2, so that's great. I've got Hasselbeck, Harrison, and Gostkowski on bye this week. I'll probably end up waiving Gostkowski to add another PK. He is the 16th rated kicker so far and I don't think he'll attract that much attention on the waiver wire. Still, I might try to keep him. I need to decide if I want to try to add another WR or go with Matt Jones and Vincent Jackson this week. I could waive James Jones, who was hurt on Sunday night and had his backup catch a bunch of balls. I need to figure that out still.

Monday morning, Week 3

Barber ran for 140 and a TD (and had enough receiving to cancel out his late fumble) for 20 points. Ryan Grant, RB GB only put up 3 for my opponent so I went from 8 down to 9 up, 111-102. It's not over, but with Vincent Jackson, WR SD for me and Nate Kaeding, PK SD for my opponent, I feel pretty good about my chances of holding this lead.

After Sunday's day games

Well, I actually think I've got a chance in this game, but I'll need some good performances.

O'Sullivan put up 25 in leading the 49ers to a big win but Hasselbeck put up only 15 in leading the Seahawks to a big win. I should have played Edwards instead, he put up 17. In fact, Russell scored 18 with a TD sneak and an 84-yard touchdown pass and so I really should have played him. I figured I lose the QBs, and I did, but it was closer than I anticipated. Drew Brees, NO put up 29 and Jon Kitna, Det put up 20 despite a 50.1 passer rating.

I ended up keeping Peterson in after learning he would play. He scored 7, as did Chester Taylor. Tim Hightower put up 6 and Kenny Watson only had 1 carry for 5 yards. I guess he's not in a time share but Chris Perry has had injury problems in the past. Recently traded Kevin Smith, RB Det ran only three times and Rudi Johnson, RB Det had 14 carries. I think I let him go at a good time. Selvin Young for the Broncos put up 6. Barber plays tonight against Ryan Grant, RB GB for my opponent. Here's a place I'm really hoping to pick up some points. Grant was hampered last week by an injury.

Marvin Harrison scored a TD and put up 12 points. I also have Vincent Jackson in tomorrow night. Matt Jones scored only 5 and Deion Branch and Chris Henry didn't play, as expected. James Jones plays tonight. My opponent played Reggie Wayne (8 points) and Torry Holt (5 points). These are huge names but they didn't put up huge points. That's kinda why I don't draft WRs early, though it has certainly been a struggle to get decent WR play for my squad. Anyway, I'm only down 1 here with Jackson still to go and I expected to be way down at WR.

John Carlson only scored 4 as the Seahawks just didn't have to pass very much. Owen Daniels put up 9 points against my defense - I'm glad to see him score some points as I'll probably be playing him when Seattle is on bye next week. My opponent played Todd Heap, Bal, who also scored 4, so this was a wash. I was hoping to win the position, but it's nice not to lose it.

Gostkowski scored 8; I'm glad he was able to kick a second field goal before the Pats fell too far behind. My opponent has Nate Kaeding, SD going tomorrow night. That means that any TD Jackson scores will only be worth 5 points, but I'll still take one or two.

The Titans had a really good game against the Texans, including a 99 yard interception return for a TD. They put up 20 points. The Cowboys D goes for my bench tonight. My opponent played the Ravens, and they destroyed the Browns and put up 27 points.

After these games, I was down 99-91 but I expected to be further behind, so I feel pretty good about this. Tonight I have Barber against his Grant and I hope to make up a lot of that difference. And then tomorrow I have Jackson against his Kaeding and I'm hoping that that will be a win for me and by enough to win me the game. I'll let you know how it goes.

Trade approved

I'm pretty surprised and now having second thoughts, but my trade of Kevin Smith, RB Det for Vincent Jackson, WR SD has been approved. So, now I'm definitely going to go with either Peterson or Taylor at RB and I need to decide if I want to play Jackson over either Harrison or Matt Jones.

Opponent Analysis, Week 3

This week I'm playing the commissioner who's an old high school buddy. He's also in my division and we play again in week 12.

QB: Drew Brees, NO at Den and Jon Kitna, Det at SF. They both have pretty good matchups and could be in shootouts. I'm planning to go with two QBs myself, certainly O'Sullivan on the other side of the one shootout. I'm leaning towards Hasselbeck right now because he's got a pretty good match up too. With either Hasselbeck or Edwards, though, I think I lose this battle. His only backup is Brady Quinn, Cle, so not an option yet.

RB: Ryan Grant, GB vs Dal and Selvin Young, Den vs No. I'm not sure Grant is healthy and I don't particularly like Young this season. I'd feel really excellent about this except that Adrian Peterson is still limited in practice by his hamstring but wants to play. If he would definitely not play, I'd feel pretty good about Chester Taylor. As it is, I think I might need to go with Kevin Smith who at least has a good match up. He has Laurence Maroney, NE vs Mia (he has an injury), Rudi Johnson, Det at SF, Warrick Dunn, TB at Chi, and Sammie Morris, NE vs Mia as backups. I'd probably play Morris over Young, especially with the injuries other guys in NE are suffering. I might even play Dunn over Grant, except that Dunn has a tough match up. Anyway, I should win this position, but we'll have to see what the margin is.

WR: Reggie Wayne, Ind vs Jax and Torry Holt, StL at Sea. They are obviously bigger names than my guys and should wipe the floor with me. Still, Holt hasn't done so much this season. Maybe the Colts will be able to run the ball this week and won't need to rely on Wayne so much. He also has Wes Welker, NE vs Mia, Mark Clayton, Bal vs Cle, and Chancey Stuckey, NYJ at SD. Welker would be my #1, I don't see why anyone would want three such high WRs especially when it means you're playing Selvin Young.

TE: Alge Crumpler, Ten vs Hou. It's rare that I like my chances at TE, but this week I do. He also has (the always injured) Todd Heap, Bal vs Cle and Anthony Fasano, Mia at NE. Fasano had a big first week and then did nothing last week. I can't see carrying three TEs. In fact, I think if he waived Crumpler, no one would pick him up. I guess someone might claim Fasano because of the Florida connection of the league, but I can see wanting to hope that it was week 2 that was the anomaly. Heap is a big name but it isn't clear to me that he would be picked up if he was let go.

PK: Nate Keading, SD vs NYJ. We both have good kickers with decent match ups, I'll have to call this a toss up. He doesn't have a backup on the roster.

TM: Baltimore Ravens vs Cle. A good D with a good match up. I'm going to have to hope that the Brownies O can show some life this week. His backup is the Pittsburgh Steelers at Phi. That's two pretty good Ds. I shied away from the Cowboys against Philly last week and that was smart. Still, Pit is probably a better defense.

Well, I'm sorry to say that this looks like a loss to me. It would have to be a bad week for Wayne and Holt for me to have a chance and that seems like a lot to ask. I guess that means I probably will play Peterson and roll the dice.

Lineup Decisions

I'm feeling like I'm getting a grip on who I should be playing. Just a couple of things still up in the air for me.

QB: With O'Sullivan playing the Lions, Martz's previous team, I'm pretty sure I want to play him. Trent Edwards has been my best QB so far this season and he's got the Raiders who have definitely given up some good QB performances. Hasselbeck has not been very good this year but he won't have a better opponent than the Rams. Still, I think I want to wait on him until he get some WRs back from injury.

RB: I've got to go with Barber and Peterson. Peterson has missed the last two days with a hamstring injury. If he's definitely out, I'll probably want to play Taylor. If his situation is murky, I might want to go with Smith or Hightower. Smith plays the 49ers and they can be run on, but the Lions have been falling so far behind so fast that he hasn't had a lot of opportunities. Hightower has a fairly tough match up against the Redskins. I hope that Peterson's status will become clear.

WR: I still haven't heard back on the Vincent Jackson trade offer, but let's assume it won't happen. I think I've got to go with Matt Jones. I'm leaning towards Harrison as the other one. Galloway is out so it's either Harrison or James Jones and I don't think I'm ready to play James Jones yet.

TE: It seems pretty clear I want to go with Carlson until the Seahawks get some WRs.

PK: Gostkowski was good last week and I'm hopeful he'll stay a top guy.

TM: The Cowboys could be in for another shootout so I'll stick with the Titans.

Flex: Leaning toward Trent Edwards, might switch to Hasselbeck, probably not any of the RBs.

Got Jones

As I suspected, I was able to add Matt Jones, WR Jax in the claims process. I think I'd like to add Chris Henry, WR Cin as well. I'll probably let go of Devin Hester, WR Chi to do this.

Player movement thoughts

I told you I was going to offer Kevin Smith, RB Det for some WRs. I ended up offering him straight-up for Chris Chambers, WR SD and for Vincent Jackson, WR SD. The team of whom I asked Chambers declined the trade and countered with either Trent Edwards, QB Buf or J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF for Chambers. I declined that. Still haven't heard back about the Jackson offer. The Lions were apparently considering adding another RB to the roster; this could either be an indictment of Smith or of Rudi Johnson, who was signed just before the season as the backup. I am going to assume the latter.

I intend to waive Zach Miller, TE Oak to add a WR in the claims this evening. However, I've made my first choice be Darren Sproles, RB SD, at the cost of Kenny Watson, RB Cin, who I do not really want to give up. However, Ladanian Tomlinson, RB SD has been hobbling with a toe injury and Sproles has been putting up good numbers. Toe injuries usually seem to take a long time to heal, so I could probably use Sproles any week if there are bye or injuries issues for my other RBs.

The top WR I'm targeting is Matt Jones, WR Jax. He's lead the team in catches both games. They are getting Jerry Porter back from injury this week, but I don't really have much confidence in Porter. They play the Colts this week and they are without safety Bob Sanders. The running game should do better and that should open up the passing game.

The next WR I'm claiming is Chris Henry, WR Cin. He's got a four game suspension, so I wouldn't be able to play him for two more weeks. I'm hopeful that Deion Branch, WR Sea will be back after their week 4 bye, but this gives me another quality guy who should be an improvement over what I've got.

Here's my list; it doesn't go ten deep, but I think I'll get either Jones or Henry.
Darren Sproles, RB SD
Matt Jones, WR Jax
Chris Henry, WR Cin
Brandon Lloyd, WR Chi
Ike Hilliard, WR TB
Keary Colbert, WR Sea
Koren Robinson, WR Sea
Derek Hagan, WR Mia

End of Week 2

Marion Barber, RB Dal had a rough first half but came through strong in the second half, neutralizing the great first half of Terrell Owens, WR Dal. Felix Jones, RB Dal didn't do much of anything except for returning a kickoff for a TD which was 6 points for the Cowboys D, on my bench. So, a big victory for me. Each of the three divisions has one team at 2-0, two at 1-1, and one at 0-2. I've got the least points scored of the three 2-0 teams, so I'll be #10 in the claim priority for this week. I need to get a WR. I'm also thinking about trading for a WR. I'll probably offer Kevin Smith, RB Det for a WR and get turned down.

Monday morning during Week 2

I did some over-coaching yesterday and hit on 1 of 2. I heard that Donte Rosario, TE Car was questionable with a foot injury, so I replaced him with John Carlson, TE Sea. That was a good move. I also decided to replace J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF as my flex with Tim Hightower, RB Az. That was a bad move.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea had a pretty bad game, putting up just 7 points. I went against Ben Roethlisberger, QB Pit, who was hampered by rough winds in Cleveland and scored just 15. Adrian Peterson, RB Min put up 20, including 160 yards rushing. Larry Johnson, RB KC put up just 2 and is probably having his Shawn Alexander season. I have Marion Barber, RB Dal tonight and he has Felix Jones, RB Dal. In the playoffs last season, I first had Peterson going against Chester Taylor, RB Min (so glad to have him on my team this year) and then Barber against Julius Jones, then RB Dal, now RB Sea. Both times it worked out well for me. At flex, Hightower put up 10 for me. He had Damon Huard, QB KC, who threw an interception before leaving with a head injury, so put up -1.

The WRs were terrible for me; Joey Galloway, WR TB scored just 2 before leaving with a foot injury in the fourth quarter. Marvin Harrison, WR Ind scored just 1 even though Manning threw a ton. He had Antonio Bryant, WR TB score 0 and has Terrell Owens, WR Dal going tonight. Carlson scored 10 for me and actually out-dueled Kellen Winslow, TE Cle, who scored 8. Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE had a big game as NE couldn't get in the end zone, scoring 13. He was opposed by Mike Prater, PK Den, who had 9. The Titans defense had a solid game and scored 13 for me but the Giants defense also had a touchdown and scored 22. So, it stands 76-55 I'm ahead with Barber against Jones and Owens. It'll probably be close in the end.

On the bench, Trent Edwards, QB Buf had a second solid game with 17 points. J.T. O'Sullivan put up 25 and I wish I'd kept him in. The Raiders won so they didn't have garbage time to rack up passing yards and JaMarcus Russell, QB Oak scored just 3. Kevin Smith, RB Det scored 8 but the Lions were way down early again and he didn't get many chances. Chester Taylor, RB Min scored just 1, but continues to look solid, just like I like it. Kenny Watson, RB Cin also scored 1 and I'm glad he didn't do much against the Titans. James Jones, WR GB caught 4 passes, including a TD, and scored 10. Devin Hester, WR Chi caught just 1 ball and scored 0. Owen Daniels, TE Hou had a bye and Zach Miller, TE Oak scored 3. The Cowboys D goes tonight.

I'm leaning towards waiving Miller to acquire a WR this week.

Opponent Analysis

Quick note, before turning to the opponent. The Baltimore at Houston game was originally pushed back to Monday night due to Hurricane Ike. It has now been postponed for some weeks, and the two teams have their byes this week. That has little effect on me (I was leaning against playing Owen Daniels, my only guy in the game) and my opponent, but I wanted to mention it.

This opponent is Team 7, having drafted Ben Roethlisberg, QB Pit in the first round. He is in my division and we will meet again in Week 13, the final week of the season. Here's his lineup:
Ben Roethlisberger, QB Pit at Cle
Damon Huard, QB KC vs Oak
Larry Johnson, RB KC vs Oak
Felix Jones, RB Dal vs Phi
DJ Hackett, WR Car vs Chi
Terrell Owens, WR Dal vs Phi
Kellen Winslow, TE Cle vs Pit
Mike Prater, PK Den vs SD
New York Giants, TM NYG at StL

Roethlisberger, Johnson, and the Giants have great games this week. I'm not impressed with Huard or Hackett, but certainly Oak gave up a ton of points to Jay Cutler. Winslow is a lot better than my guys but has a tough match up. I really don't know what to expect from the Den-SD game. If Barber doesn't play on Monday, that kills me and really boosts Jones for him, so I'm really done if that happens.

On his bench he has Jason Campbell, QB Was vs NO who I'd probably play over Huard even with Oak's poor showing against Den last week. He also has Kyle Orton, so this is another team with four starters. His RBs on the bench are Andre Hall, RB Den vs SD, Chris Perry, RB Cin vs Ten, and Pierre Thomas, RB NO at Was. I like them all, but Hall and Perry have tough match ups. I'm not sure if I would play Jones or Thomas as Jones has what I think will be a tough match up also. None of his other back ups are very exciting. His next best WR is probably Laverneus Coles, WR NYJ, but he was hurt and didn't play last week. He also has Antonio Bryant, WR TB (who have changed QBs, which can't be too good for the WRs), James Hardy, WR Buf (who put up 0 despite the good game the Bills had last week; was he injured?), and Derrick Mason, WR Bal, on bye.

I have to say I don't love my chances here. I wish I had more confidence that I was picking my top two QBs.

Week 2 Lineup Decisions

I expected that seeing everyone play once would give me a good grip on who I wanted to be playing. That doesn't seem to have happened.

QB:
Trent Edwards, QB Buf at Jax
JaMarcus Russell, QB Oak at KC
Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea vs SF
J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF at Sea

Edwards had a big game but goes against a tough D. Hasselbeck should be the default number one, but all of his receivers are injured. Russell put up a good statistical game, but all of his points came after the Broncos were up big. O'Sullivan had a pretty poor game last week, but goes against the D that gave up big points to Edwards.

RB:
Marion Barber, RB Dal vs Phi (Mon)
Adrian Peterson, RB Min vs Ind
Kevin Smith, RB Det vs GB
Peterson for sure. Barber suffered a minor injury last week. All reports are that he's good to go, so I'm probably going to play him, but if we learn on Monday that he'll be limited, I'm stuck. Now GB gave up a good game to Peterson last week, but I think they're a tough D, so that helps me lean towards Barber.

WR:
Marvin Harrison, WR Ind at Min
Joey Galloway, WR TB vs Atl
Devin Hester, WR Chi at Car
James Jones, WR GB at Det
Hester put up 0 points on 1 catch for 7 yards and Jones was hurt and didn't play. Having lost Burleson, I think I'm pretty much stuck with Harrison and Galloway. Fortunately, they both seem to have decent match ups. I'm concerned about what the QB change in TB may mean for Galloway, but I don't think I can go to any of the backups.

TE:
Dante Rosario, TE Car vs Chi
Zach Miller, TE Oak at KC
Owen Daniels, TE Hou vs Bal (Mon)
Neither of the guys I drafted was very exciting and the Panthers are still without Steve Smith, so I think I'm going to go with Rosario.

PK:
Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE at NYJ
One could hope that the loss of Brady will mean more FG attempts, though it oculd also mean a lot fewer kicks over all. Anyway, I'm not ready to make a move at PK yet, so let's see how he does this week.

TM:
Tennessee Titans, TM Ten at Cin
Dallas Cowboys, TM Dal vs Phi (Mon)
The Eagles looked great, the Bengals looked terrible. The Titans played a great defensive game against the Jags last week, and I think I'm going to put them into the lineup.

Flex: Probably one of the QBs, though Smith is an option again.

Player movement wrap

The only guys claimed ahead of my 8th claim pick were the four I mentioned in the last post. I got the Titans D and I'm excited about that pick. I then let go Nate Burleson, WR Sea and added Donte Rosario, TE Car. I've been pretty unsure about which TE to take, but with Steve Smith, WR Car still suspended for one more week, I figured he had the best shot at duplicating his Week 1 effort.

claims period

At midnight tonight, each team has the option to claim one player. My 104 points was the second lowest total from a winning team, so I've got the eighth pick. Since I put Branch on the IR, I can pick up someone for free. I'll also be able to replace Nate Burleson, WR Sea, but only tomorrow morning after 11. I don't want to drop any of my QBs or RBs. Since I'm at the roster limit for those positions, I can't get any of the available players (Matt Cassell, QB NE, Kerry Collins, QB Ten, Damon Huard, QB KC, Sammy Morris, RB NE, among others). I can add anyone at any of the other positions.

Since I have the 8th pick, I need to list at least 8 players to make sure I get one. I assume that the four guys in the last paragraph will go before I get to pick, for example, so I should get one of my top four or so. There were a number of TEs who scored double what my guys got, so I'm definitely looking at them. However, since there are so many, I don't mind if I don't get one in this process, since I should be able to get another later. I'd love to improve at the WR position, but there wasn't much out there that tempted me. Here's my current ordered list:
Tennessee Titans, TM Ten
Matt Jones, WR Jax
Robert Royal, TE Buf
Dante Rosario, TE Car
Anthony Fasano, TE Mia
Courtney Taylor, WR Sea
L.J. Smith, TE Phi
John Carlson, TE Sea
Bo Sciafe, TE Ten

Week 1 wrap

Adrian Peterson, RB Min ran for a 100 yards and scored a TD for me. Justin Fargas, RB Oak did run for almost 100, but he wasn't able to match Peterson and I won by 12 or so points. Chester Taylor, RB Min caught some passes, looked good carrying the ball, did enough to maintain his position as the top back-up without eating into Peterson's numbers very much, essentially perfect for me. JaMarcus Russell, QB Oak looked pretty bad in the first quarter that I watched, but he ended up with decent numbers. Zach Miller, TE Oak caught 4 balls and outscored Owen Daniels, TE Hou, my starter.

The Tom Brady, QB NE owner is a big Bills fan, so I've asked him to give me an idea of what value he attaches to Trent Edwards. He probably won't offer enough for me to want to move Edwards, but it's worth exploring.

injury wrap up

Well, Tom Brady, QB NE is out for the year. That definitely hurts the value of Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE, but I'm not going to be too concerned about it for now. If he continues to be mediocre, I'm sure I can pick up someone quality.

More importantly, Nate Burleson, WR Sea is out for the year from his knee injury. I could try to hold onto him for the season to consider keeping next year, but I can't believe his value would be more next year than it was this year. This is also troublesome for Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea, who now has no experienced WRs until Bobby Engram and Deion Branch come back from injury. He only put up 14 yesterday and that was with Burleson scoring a TD.

Week 1 post Sunday night game update

Marvin Harrison, WR Ind put up 9 points, hurt by a big fumble that killed the Colts, but putting me up 87-82 with Adrian Peterson, RB Min to go for me versus Justin Fargas, RB Oak. Looks good, but definitely not over.

After Sunday's games

I'm trailing 78-82 with Marvin Harrison, WR Ind playing tonight and Adrian Peterson, RB Min tomorrow. My opponent has Justin Fargas, RB Oak going tomorrow night. I like my chances to win this first game even though I didn't have a great game.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea really struggled but still put up 14 points. That put me way behind Philip Rivers, QB SD, who got 30. Marion Barber, RB Dal put up two short TDs, 100 total yards, and 23 points. Ladanian Tomlinson, RB SD put up a few more yards but was kept out of the end zone, and scored just 11, so that's making up some of the difference from the QBs. At WR, he had Plaxico Burress, WR NYG put up 18 and Anquan Boldin, WR Az put up 12. I got just 8 from Joey Galloway, WR TB and am waiting on Harrison to try to even that out some more. At the flex, he had Chad Ocho Cinco, WR Cin who scored just 2 (I don't trust WRs to be consistent) and I had Kevin Smith, RB Det who managed a TD and so put up 15. Against Chris Cooley, TE Was, who scored 0, I had Owen Daniels, TE Hou, who did put up 4. Against the 0 put up by his Lawrence Tynes, PK NYG, I had 5 from Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE. My Cowboys defense and his Panthers defense each put up 9, so that was a wash.

Tom Brady, QB NE may have torn his ACL and could be out for the season. That probably weakens Gostkowski's value.

Nate Burleson, WR Sea, who I thought of starting in place of Harrison, caught Hasselbeck's TD and put up 14 points. However, he left with a knee injury, which is certainly worrisome since it will leave Hasselbeck with essentially no receivers. I also thought about playing J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF in place of Kevin Smith. He had a mediocre game and put up only 3 points, so that was decent coaching. My best bench performance so far was Trent Edwards, QB Buf who out-dueled Hasselbeck for 24 points and a victory in the game. Tim Hightower, RB Az scored a short TD, caught 3 passes, and put up 10 points. Kenny Watson, RB Cin scored just 2.

Bench players still to play are JaMarcus Russell, QB Oak, Chester Taylor, RB Min, Devin Hester, WR Chi, James Jones, WR GB (who is doubtful), and Zach Miller, TE Oak.

So I feel good about Trent Edwards, need to worry about Burleson, and am excited for the last three games.

Week 1 lineup final decision

I decided to go with Kevin Smith, RB Det as my flex, over J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF. I decided to stick with Marvin Harrison, WR Ind and Joey Galloway, WR TB as my WRs and leave Nate Burleson, WR Sea on the bench.

Thursday game

My opponent didn't seem to know that Tynes wasn't going to play, or maybe he thought Mare wouldn't play, but anyway he started Lawrence Tynes, PK NYG. Since John Carney did the kicking for the Giants, Tynes put up a 0. Also, Chris Cooley, TE Was put up a 0. Now Plaxico Burress, WR NYG had a nice game with 18 points.

But, since I'm getting Gostkowski and Daniels unopposed, I'm feeling really good about my chances of winning. I'm considering switching to a safer play. Now, I'm not sure exactly what would be a safer strategy, but I'm considering the following two changes: Play Nate Burleson, WR Sea instead of Marvin Harrison, WR Ind and Play Kevin Smith, RB Det instead of one of my backup QBs as the flex. Smith is playing the Falcons and that's a good matchup. O'Sullivan has the Cardinals, also a good matchup.

Opponent analysis

I'm playing Team 4 this week; he got Tomlinson in the first round. We have 12 teams in three divisions of 4 teams. We play each of the other 11 teams once and two of the teams from the division a second time. This is the one team from my division I only play once. Let's hope he's one of the better teams in the division.

QBs: Philip Rivers, SD, Chris Redman, Atl, Rex Grossman, Chi.
Since Rivers is the only starter, I'm guessing he'll be the only QB playing. I certainly like my chances matching Hasselbeck against Rivers.
RBs: Ladanian Tomlinson, SD, Justin Fargas, Oak, Jerious Norwood, Atl, Brandon Jackson, GB.
Not a terribly impressive collection. I'm going to assume he'll go Tomlinson and Fargas. I like my two guys to win this position.
WRs: Anquan Boldin, Az, Plaxico Burress, NYG, Chad Johnson, Cin, Vincent Jackson, SD, David Patten, NO, Antwaan Randle-El, Was, Bobby Engram, Sea
Obviously he's got more good WRs than I. I'd guess he'll play Boldin, Buress, and Jackson. That means my second QB has to only out-perform one of these guys for me to win the flex spot. I'll probably lose the WRs, but I think I'll be close enough that I'm pretty confident so far.
TEs: Chris Cooley, Was, Gregg Olsen, Chi, Leonard Pope, Az
I don't understand drafting 3 TEs; he'll never play more than one, Cooley should play every week except his bye, and then one other TE suffices. Cooley probably beats Daniels, but not by a huge amount.
PKs: Olindo Mare, Sea, Lawrence Tynes, NYG
Tynes is hurt this week, so it'll be Mare. It means every TD for Hasselbeck is only worth five to me. However, I like Gostkowski over Mare and I don't like drafting two PKs.
TMs: Carolina Panthers, Car
They play SD, so his QB and #1 RB. That is the opposite of synergy.

All in all, I like my chances this week. I really do hope he's one of the better teams in the division, but that's not very likely.

Week 1 lineup decisions

Once the season gets going, Monday will be for thinking about who I might want to put in a claim for. Each week, the teams are sorted by record with points for as the tie breaker and then, in reverse order, get to claim one free agent. The players are allocated at midnight Wednesday/Thursday and then all free agents are free game starting Thursday at 10am. When you waive someone, the same ranking prioritizes claims in the first 36 hours; after that, free game again.

This week, with a game on Thursday night, I think I'll start with my lineup decisions. The Thursday game is Washington at the Giants, so I don't have any players in the game. I don't really need to make any decisions before Sunday, but I'll start thinking about them.

Definitely in:
Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea
Adrian Peterson, RB Min
Marion Barber, RB Dal
Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE
Dallas Cowboys, TM Dal

The last two are sure things because they are the only ones on my roster at their position.

Definitely out:
Timothy Hightower, RB Az
Kenny Watson, RB Cin
James Jones, WR GB
Deion Branch, WR Sea

The RBs are backups (for now, anyway) and the WRs are hurt. So that's easy.

I need two WRs from:
Marvin Harrison, WR Ind vs. Chi
Joey Galloway, WR TB @ NO
Nate Burleson, WR Sea @ Buf
Devin Hester, WR Chi @ Ind

I'm leaning towards Harrison and Galloway; they were my first two picks and I'm not sure why I shouldn't go with them. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't play Hester, but I could go Burleson; I'd especially like to hear more about the health of Harrison and Galloway.

I need a TE from:
Owen Daniels, TE Hou @ Pit
Zach Miller, TE Oak vs. Den

I'm leaning toward Daniels, he was more of the safe pick and Miller the gamble. Miller does probably have the easier game but Daniels has a much better QB.

I need a FLEX from:
Jamarcus Russell, QB Oak vs. Den
J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF vs. Az
Trent Edwards, QB Buf vs. Sea
Kevin Smith, RB Det @ Atl
Chester Taylor, RB Min @ GB


I'm pretty sure I'll go with one of the QBs. Edwards is coming off an injury, so I think I'd shy away from him. I'm probably going to lean towards O'Sullivan as having had the better preseason and easier opponent. Still, I did draft Russell earlier, and I might like to go with him instead.

Beginning of the draft

Before the draft, I made a conditional trade. The owner of Team 5 is a huge Jets fan. I offered him this deal: If Favre was still available at my pick, pick 12 of the first round, I'd give him that pick and my 5th round pick for his 2nd and 4th round picks. He took the offer.

Here's how the first round went:
1. Tom Brady, QB NE
2. Payton Manning, QB Ind
3. Drew Brees, QB NO
4. Ladanian Tomlinson, RB SD
5.
So, he could have taken Steven Jackson or Brian Westbrook or Carson Palmer.
5. Bret Favre, QB NYJ
So, my great trade was trashed.
6. Carson Palmer, QB Cin
7. Ben Roethlisberger, QB Pit
8. Donovan McNabb, QB Phi
9. Eli Manning, QB NYG
10. Brian Westbrook, RB Phi
11. Steven Jackson, RB StL
12.
I thought I really needed to take a QB since I already had Adrian Peterson and Marion Barber as keepers, costing me my 2nd and 3rd round picks. I wanted to take Joseph Addai, RB Ind who was clearly the best player on the board. Among QBs, I was considering Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea and Mark Bulger, QB StL. I went with
12. Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea
I'm not really sure that that was the right thing to do, less so after Bulger looked really good in a preseason game last night while Hasselbeck won't play with back issues. Anyway.

I could have drafted Addai and planned to play three RBs most weeks instead of two QBs. I just wasn't ready to make that choice.

Here's my whole draft:
1. Matt Hasselbeck, QB Sea
2. Adrian Peterson, RB Min (keeper)
3. Marion Barber, RB Dal (keeper, second time)
4. Jamarcus Russell, QB Oak
The last Oakland QB I took was Aaron Brooks and that was a complete disaster. I wasn't really excited about Russell, either. I was focused on getting better QB depth and I felt I could get a good #3 RB when the draft came all the way around to me again. The next few QBs off the board were Vince Yound, Tavaris Jackson, and Chad Pennington. I think I'd again choose Russell over those guys.
5. Kevin Smith, RB Det
One reason for this pick is that I enjoyed following UCF (the University of Central Florida), where Smith was a 2000 yard RB last year. I picked him over Jonathan Stewart of Carolina because Smith is likely to be the clear #1 while Stewart will share time with DeAngelo Williams. Of course, both Stewart and Williams ran for 100 yards last night, but I'm still pretty sure this was a good pick.
6. J.T. O'Sullivan, QB SF
If I'd known I could get him and Russell like this, I might have taken Addai. However, I think Team 11 only passed on O'Sullivan because he thought I wouldn't take another QB this early. He ended up getting Troy Smith in the 10th round, which was a pretty good pick for him. I'm psyched about this pick. Having 4 starting QBs leaves me with some confidence that I'll feel good about playing some two of them each week. I'm curious which two that will end up being though.
7. Marvin Harrison, WR Ind
Obviously he only fell this far because of last year's injuries. I've heard a lot of good reports on his health this preseason, so I'm reasonably happy to have him as my #1 WR. Lee Evans and Chris Chambers were the next two WRs off the board, and I like Harrison a lot better.
8. Trent Edwards, QB Buf (keeper)
9. Chester Taylor, RB Min
Pundits had Adrian Peterson anywhere from 1 to 5 among RBs. Those who had him later pointed to injury concerns. I definitely wanted to get Taylor and I'm quite pleased he lasted this long. Ahman Green and Jerious Norwood were the next two RBs taken, so I don't feel that this was too early for Taylor.
10. Joey Galloway, WR TB
I think he makes a relatively good #2 WR, especially given how long I waited to start taking WRs. The next WRs off the board were Anthony Gonzalez, Derrick Mason, Reggie Brown, and Desean Jackson. The guy who picked Jackson probably had the worst draft of everyone - I'll just mention picking Matt Leinhart, QB Az in the second round. Jackson has certainly been talked up a ton but I think he could have waited a couple of rounds to get him.
11. Nate Burleson, WR Sea
12. Devin Hester, WR Chi
I felt pretty good about these two picks. Burleson is probably the top WR in Seattle until their injury problems resolve themselves. I like pairing him with Hasselbeck, I'm kinda thinking of it as a bet on the Pass line after my earlier bet on Hasselbeck's back. Hester is more of a boom/bust bet, but something I felt like making with my 4th WR.
13. Dallas Cowboys, DT Dal
I was the 7th team to take a defense (and the Giants were kept). I'm not really sure that this was a good pick, but they were the top team on my list and I suspected there was a big drop off to the rest of the teams on my list.
14. Owen Daniels, TE Hou
Had a ton of catches last year but not many TDs, hence his availability here as the 12th TE taken. I had to decide between he and Ben Watson, TE NE and went with Daniels because he was on my roster last year, so I felt good about him, and he doesn't play with anyone who demands the ball like Randy Moss.
15. Zach Miller, TE Oak
He's had a nice preseason and I'm hoping he and Russell will produce a lot.
16. James Jones, WR GB
He should have a nice rapport with Rodgers since they've been second teamers together. He's been getting good press this preseason but he's definitely #3 in GB. I was choosing between Jones and Jabar Gaffney, WR NE who went with the next pick. NE probably plays three WRs a lot more than GB, but I guess I was still passing up non-Randy Moss Patriot receivers.
17. Stephen Gostkowski, PK NE
But not kickers. This was the 4th kicker taken and another guy I had last year. Lot's of people counsel not taking a kicker until the last round, but with the way our keepers work, I like using the latest possible round for gambles.
18. Kenny Watson, RB Cin
Watson is definitely not a young guy I'm hoping to do well with next year. But, no one knows how Cincy will distribute the carries and he might just get a bunch of them. As a #5 RB, I like that potential. Even if he is just one guy in a committee, he should score something if I need him during a bye week when some other guys are hurt.
19. Deion Branch, WR Sea
If he'd been healthy, he'd probably have gone before I started taking WRs. Of course, he isn't healthy and will certainly miss some games. But, if he eventually comes back strong, he'll be a solid addition and possibly a guy to keep for next year. Our league has a 1 man IR, so after the first games, I can move him to IR and pick up someone else (except that we can only have 4 QBs, 6 RBs, 3 TEs, 2 PKs, 2 TMs total, including IR).
20. Timothy Hightower, RB Az
If this turns out to be Edge's last year, then Hightower is first in line to replace him. And, he might get goal line carries this year, making him possibly usable in a pinch.