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.