MoFo Fantasy Football 2009: Week 12

C'mon, Michael Turner. I know your ankle hurts. Why not rest it another week? Can't hurt. Trust me.

EDIT: crap.

Cedric Benson is out (Thank gosh I have Bernard Scott. His #s have been great and I havent suffered from this Benson layover)

Michael Turner is in

Julius Jones is out. Justin Forsett is starting.

Officially Clinton Portis is out and Cartwright is in.

Ahmad Bradshaw is out

Steven Jackson is in.

Jerious Norwood is in but NFL.com says hes not a viable fantasy option.

Carolinas Steve Smith is in, and Jonathan Stewart is in too

Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin are NOT inactive. whew!

And Now they are talking about P Thomas maybe getting less carries this week, with Bell getting a bit more of the workload, and Bush IS playing.

Kurt Warner is OUT. This makes the Arizona game a big question mark. Do Wells and Hightower get more carries and catches today? Will Leinart dork out and start gun-slinging to Fitz all day?

On the fence with Wells/Cartwright... Cartwright gets more catches, so he still has the edge at this point...

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Hmm, who's talking about that? First I've heard of it.

Not really worried about carries, so much as goal line carries. Thomas continues to completely outplay Bell, and most of Bell's carries last week came late, after the game was in hand. Goal line carries are the difference between Thomas putting up 8-10 and 15-17.

Not sure I like my alternatives, anyway; Hightower's got a rough matchup and the Leinert thing makes me like him less, actually, even with safety-valve implications. And Maroney...well...Sammy Morris is questionable, and it took two injuries to Patriot backs just to make Maroney a decent fantasy option to begin with, so as consistent as he's been I'm not sure I trust him if there's more than one other healthy guy in that backfield.

Might have to reconsider Cotchery last minute. Even with Sanchez struggling, he puts up double digits every time he's healthy, and he's going to get a lot of looks. And, most importantly, Courtney likes him over Thomas. But he's returning punts, which makes me wonder if he'll be on the field for as many snaps as usual.

Yikes, this is arguably the toughest set of choices I've had all year.

I agree. I missed the bus on Moreno, who would have been fine in my RB2 slot, and I feel like I might be passing up an opportunity where Wells gets more carries than normal today, and probably punches one in. It's the PPR situation that has me thinking Cartwright is the play.

Hate to offer my sworn enemy any advice (), but yeah, I'd play Cartwright in your shoes.

Gah, last-minute call here between Cotchery/Thomas/Hightower. Thinking Cotchery, but it's a total three-way coin flip.

Im not trying to be a broken record or argumentative but I cant see any scenario now with Slaton under the microscope, and hurt too, where Cotchery isnt more valuable especially in PPR. As is their point avg. is near identical, but Slatons banged up vs a tough team and will be splitting more carries than he has all year. Regardless if Slaton gets throws Cotchery will be the #1 target in that Jets game.

Well, I went with Cotchery, but I benched Thomas for him. Don't see how I can sit Slaton this week; he put up 10 and 17 the last couple weeks even sharing time, the Colts are mediocre against the run, and they're without Dwight Freeney.

All academic now, though! Game on.

Is it possible to win without a Quarterback? I guess I'm about to find out....

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"Vader...You Must Confront Vader..."

I won the week I had to play Derek Anderson and he put up negative points, so...yeah. But it's not easy.

Score one for the "you can't sit guys like Slaton because they catch a lot of passes" school of thought. But remove one for the "Cotchery is crazy reliable" school of thought I went with, too, though. Slaton: 17.6. Cotchery: 2.2. Eek. Wasn't even close.

He might have been in the game, but he took the day off, today. 3.3 points.

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If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise.

Johann von Goethe

He reinjured his ankle. Worst of all possible worlds for both of us, as it turns out. The fact that it's the same ankle as before doesn't bode well for next week, I wouldn't think, but nobody expected him to be miss just one game, either, so we'll see.

This confirms what I've been saying all year: the Falcons' medical staff should consult me before all major decisions.

Yeah sorry for the supposed golden advice I was giving. Ay yi yi I was wrong on that.

These last 2 games are critical for alot of us. The thing of most interesting note is Taterators might beat Team Darcy without a QB in his slot!

Darcy 83.90 with no players left to play, and
Tater 71.10 with Todd Heap tonight and John Carney tomorrow yet to play. He only needs 12.81 points to win!

Why do you have to hurt me like that, Tongo? My greatest shame is not only losing to a 1-10 team, but one without a QB! The horror, the horror.

No offense, Spudly.

Oh Im not trying to hurt you Darce. Its just the sheer wonderment of it all! John Carney needs 11.21....

Heck everyones gonna be watching the game tomorrow as its not just Darcy/Spud yet to be determined but Yoda/Reps, Gadsden/LT, and PW/ILMF too

Not looking good for the 'Bots tonight!

I ended up being busy during the night, so I couldn't stick around the chat bitching all night. Looks like PW and Chris are the teams to beat! Unless something very odd happens with the Saints this eve, I think he has me.

I, on the other hand, had plenty of time to bitch during the Steeler game. Quick diversion from fantasy to reality...

Ugh. Poor Dennis Dixon; he's a third-string QB making his first career start on short notice, he throws for a score, runs for another, and doesn't turn the ball over in regulation, before throwing a pick in OT just 20 yards away from a game-winning field goal and a huge upset. The Steelers nearly pull out a win without Troy Polamalu, Aaron Smith, one of our guards, Ben, OR Ben's backup. We had to play a third-string quarterback! And we still almost won! Instead, it goes in the books as another agonizingly close loss. For those of you keep tracking (IE: me), that's all five losses by 6 points or less, and four losses by 3 points. I know this sounds like homerism, but that's some pretty horrific luck. Historically, close games tend to come out about even, and we've lost most of them this year.

It's also the worst of all possible worlds, because even though the Steelers lost, I got a whopping 3 points out of the Baltimore defense. Not that I wasn't completely fine with that if it meant Dixon leading us to an improbable victory. Oh well. Back to fantasy, which is moderately happier...

...lots of close games yesterday (and still today). Obviously Pats-Saints isn't just a great game, but a game with tons of fantasy implications in just about every league, and ours is no exception.

Seds and I, in what is surely the biggest matchup of the regular season thus far, have gone 14 rounds and we've got one left to go. He jumped out to a big lead by scoring 27 from D. Driver on Thursday, I hit back with five players putting up around 75 during the 1:00 games, and he retorted with 60 points (did I nail that over-under or what?) during the 4:00 games.

The net result? Well, let's roll right into the games that are still up in the air:

11 Angry Men vs. The Replicants
Seds leads, and I need 33.81 points out of Drew Brees and Marques Colston combined. Hard to imagine Brees not holding up his end of the bargain with 20-25 or so, but Colston's been shaky lately, and teams have been happy to let the Saints' other receivers beat them. I like my chances more than I don't, so to speak, but Colston definitely worries me.

What's at Stake: winner takes sole possession of first place, becomes the first team this year to clinch a playoff spot, and is in prime position for one of the two Bye weeks.


PW's Odd Squad vs. I-Love-Megan-Fox
PW needs 41.77 points out of Tom Brady, Wes Welker, and Jeremy Shockey combined. Yahoo predicts nearly 56 for the trio, by the by.

What's at Stake: For PW, a win keeps him in the hunt for a Bye week. But mainly, a loss means he'll almost certainly have to win next week to secure a playoff spot.


Gadsden Flag vs. Wolverines
Gadsden's Flag trails, and needs Reggie Bush to outscore LT's Randy Moss by 3.19 points tonight.

What's at Stake: Winner moves to 8-4, controls their own destiny playoff-wise during the last week, and the loser falls to 7-5 and has to win next week to have a shot. Both teams would probably lose tiebreakers to several other teams in the thick of things, like Darcy and Slug, which makes this game especially crucial.


Team Darcy vs. The Tateraters
With Ben a late scratch, Spud didn't manage to pick up a replacement on Saturday or Sunday morning, and trotted out a big 0. Had he played anyone, a win would probably already be in the bag. Nevertheless, he can still win with 12 points from Saints kicker John Carney.

What's at Stake: a win moves Darcy to 8-4, and with her point total that's probably enough for a playoff spot. A loss and she's part of the tangled thicket of 7-5 teams vying for the last two playoff spots.

Predictions for tonight: 11 Angry Men, PW, Wolverines, Darcy. If that shakes out, we'll have one 9-3 team, four 8-4 teams, and three 7-5 teams. The 8-4 teams will be in no matter if they can win in the season's last week. Some of the 7-5 teams will need a win, an 8-4 team loss, and a tiebreaker in points. And if Jay loses tonight, he and Pete will both be 7-5...and they play each other next week.

Good luck everyone!