berven

Martellus Bennett is ruining my life, In a close game, I chuckled when my opponent started Ladarius Green, who proceeded to lay down a 0-0-0 egg. I still had Martellus Bennett to play. Now, at halftime, Bennett is tied with Green. Maybe Bennett's ankle is bothering him, but he should have more pride than to serve as a high-priced decoy.

I thought Julius Thomas would make a great stealth play against my opponent, who started a hobbled Graham. I only needed a deuce from the stiff to win, but his donut cost me my game. I had to do a lot of research to verify that Thomas was Active. Although he was in the technical sense, I classify him as stupifyingly Inactive. FU Thomas!

I'm thinking of rolling with Todman, but I keep hallucinating that thread tomorrow night--"Anybody else get burned by Todman?"--after he gets 4 carries to Denard's 21. I'd like reassurance from a Jaguars homer that this won't happen.

I couldn't start Rice with confidence unless I was heavily medicated, since he's been playing like he is. There's almost no such thing as a favorable matchup for a guy averaging 2.5. I suspect his injury issues will persist for the remainder of the season. With a $7M option bonus due in March, I think he's trying to carry on to avoid a release or massive restructuring of his contract.

I'm waiting for Trent to show me something before running him out there. When a RB carries 11 times for 18 yards on a THUR night, I'm full of self-loathing until SUN, brooding about how I can possibly overcome the deficit I've created. The only place I'd use Richardson is in a salary cap contest with hundreds of entries, pairing him with Rice. If they each broke out for 25 points, I'd likely be the only contestant who started that duo.

Freeman destroyed my MON, and I didn't even own him. There was a time when you could circle the W in advance if you went into MNF needing 14 points from Peterson. Instead, I watched with sinking heart as Josh tossed over 50 passes, many of which sailed like paper airplanes, while AP languished. I knew Freeman would be awful, because "Slick Rick" Spielman has an eye for latent lack of talent; he will pounce on a player whom he senses has the potential to reach new lows. If MIN isn't joshing in announcing Freeman as the Week 8 starter, it's already hats-and-horns time here in Packerland. Our defense will eat.

Mike Lombardi has long been high on Ryan Mallett. I wouldn't be surprised if Gordon went to the Pats in a deal involving Mallett.

I like AZ vs a struggling TB team that is starting a rookie QB. I feel leery about the NYG-KC game, because I'm not sure that the Chiefs defense is all that stour and the Giants offense is all that bad.

Hernandez was clearly involved in covering up the homicide, if we can dignify such clumsy efforts as a "coverup." The best case scenario is that he told his henchmen to "take care of this guy," learned to his horror that they had killed him instead of just roughing him up, and then made drug-addled and/or panicky efforts to hide the crime. Worst case, of course, is that he pulled the trigger, but I doubt that; antisocial celebrities surround themselves with thugs to do their dirty work. If Hernandez did commit the crime or order it committed, his life and career are destroyed. This could even end really badly if he's convinced his deal has gone down. However, if he can pin this on his associates, he will not only play football again but eventually get his story spun as an inspirational "comeback" a la Vick, Stallworth and others, reclaiming his endorsement deals and giving talks to young people about the perils of keeping bad company.

Fanball is like the stock market. You feel smart when you win and dumb when you lose, even though luck is a huge factor. A shrewd decision can fail and a foolish move can result in a windfall. I picked up Foles in my Week 13 playoff game and then left him on the bench to roll with Kaepernick, ending my season. Naturally, I'm berating myself. I do have consolation games, but I still consider my season over. While I field a legal line-up, I can't summon up any intensity about those contests. Win or lsoe them, I'm inconsolable.

As somebody who lost because he started Kaepernick over Foles, I understand your fear of making the wrong decision. I would go with Brown despite last week's doughnut. His previous two games testify to his huge upside. The Bengals run defense isn't bad, but it's far more vulnerable than TB's league-leading run D.

SF will hope to win with its ground game and defense. NE, I think, will pass heavily to get a lead that the Niners cannot overcome. I don't see Ridley running a lot. I'd probably go with Moreno, who will see a big workload against a soft run defense. Leshoure shares carries and may not be a big factor. This really is a crapshoot, but that's how I'd play it. In benching Ridley, you wouldn't be casting aside a guy who is the centerpiece of his offense.

TB allows only 72 yds per game, so I wouldn't write off Brown because they stopped him. He can take it to the house at anytime. I would worry about Morris with an absent or hobbled RGIII, and he doesn't score a lot. Alexander has performed like a tier 1 WR for weeks and would be an easy choice for me. I'd use CJ2K as my flex. He's been erratic, but you know he'll get the carries and is another home run threat. DET is everyone's pick this week because of what SEA did to AZ last week. AZ is at home this week and I wouldn't expect another 40-point bonanza, but you almost have to go with the Lions vs such an anemic offense. In playoff games, unless I'm a heavy favorite, I tend to roll with the big play guys. They can earn you decent points by getting into the open field just once or twice.

KAEP OR NICK? This was my dilemma last week, and I lost my playoff game when I made the wrong choice. I'm tempted to recommend Foles because I'm irked at Kaep for his Smith-like stats. However, when I look at it objectively, Colin seems like the better play. CIN defends the pass far more stoutly than TB, and Cincy's front four will pose a challenge to PHIL's shaky O-line. The Pats offense is hitting on all cylinders, so I think Kaep will have to pass to keep pace. Good luck. I wish I had a choice, but I'm watching from the bleachers now.

Still need two players.

I remember a time years ago when Trung Canidate got the start replacing an injured Marshall Faulk. Mike Martz nearly got teary as he spoke about how Trung had "earned it" and how he was looking forward to seeing the lad unleash his talent. Trung fumbled away the rock on the first STL possession. He was yanked and seen no more. I believe Taiwan will start. However, despite the fulsome praise from Palmer and the coaches about Jones's "electricity," he will be on a short leash. If the first OAK possession ends because Jones fumbles it away or allows Palmer to get leveled by wiffing on a blitzer, he could be gone. I'm sure OAK has a contingency plan. In my 18-team league, I have no choice but to roll with Jones, since Mendy is likely out and Morris is on a bye. In other contests, though, I'm trying not to drink the kool-aid. How much Taiwan plays will likely be determined early on. GLTA Jonesers.

Reece will see plenty of action, but he hasn't been used as a conventional RB. If he starts at RB, they lose their starting FB. I look for Jones to get most of the carries. The Raiders won't forego a running game, either, because that's where the BAL D is vulnerable. I hope I'm not selling myself a bill of goods, though. First place is on the line in my game, and I have A Morris on bye and R Mendenhall uncertain to see MNF action. I need the above to be true since I'm rolling with Taiwan. A SF beat writer has declared Jones the starter. Hopefully, that won't be just honorary.

I can't even crack the top half this year, and am apparently in the twilight of my fantasy career. However, I'm back to give it another go. If I win this week, I may just hang up my fantasy cleats.

Stewart is a talented RB--and so is Williams for that matter--but the offense is built around Newton. I don't picture Stewart ever being a workhorse for CAR. I also think we'll be seeing more of Williams, since I believe the real reason the Panthers were sitting him so much was because they didn't want an injury to damage his trade value.

I'm in an outlandishly large league--18 teams--and have the #1 waiver claim. Once I use it, I drop back to #18 and will never again reach the top. However, because of the bye, I have no QB and am thinking of spending my pick on Cassel. The only alternative is to take an egg at the position, since no starter is available in the FA pool and someone will grab Cassel before he clears waiver. I expect to be depressed on FRI morning either way. I'll probably roll with Matt. "Root, hog, or die," as the old saying goes.

These contests were a good secondary source of income for me last year, but I've lost my mojo this year. After an absence, I'm back to see if I can recapture the magic.

Two left...

The scab officiating has been a total circus. Even I knew that there needed to be a PAT attempt before the game could end. However, I might be the only Packer homer who believes the call was reasonable, albeit arguable. By the time Jennings got his feet down to establish possession, control was simultaneous. If GB hadn't laid down a scoreless first half with eight sacks of Rogers, the Pack wouldn't have been vulnerable to a flukey final play. In any case, pro sports will never overturn a game result. It would open the flood gate to endless demands for review. In MLB, the Jim Joyce blown call that cost Gallaraga a perfect game was as bad a piece of officiating as you'll ever see, but the league wouldn't void it even though reversing the call would not have changed the outcome.

I'm going to sit DJax in favor of Aldrick Robinson. Jackson has already proven his willingness to coast, and I just don't see the wounded warrior putting up big numbers against a tough opponent. He hasn't really shone when healthy.

Cedric "Tundra Thunder" Benson rolled the rock 9 times for 18 yards last week. Against a softer CHI defense, he might bump that up to 9 for 25, but I wouldn't expect much more, old team or not. I think Ted Thompson is unsure about Benson as well. He seemed all set to cut Starks and then hung onto him.