Thursday, December 20, 2007

What the F*** were you thinking?

(Gusto)What up kid? This weather is making me freakin’ miserable. I need to pull a senior citizen move and relocate my a$$ to Florida.

Alright - on to the rankings. I actually do not have a problem with most of our differences this week. But there are a couple of discrepancies that I will discuss. The readers should keep in mind that in two of the last three weeks I have SMOKED you in this column. Just want that to be out there for public record.

For quarterbacks, I think you have Carson Palmer way too high. That Bengals’ offense has really struggled to find an identity this season and Palmer’s play has been shaky with ill-advised interceptions and not many touchdowns lately. I know they’re facing the Browns and they blow on defense but I don’t see Palmer going nuts.

I am a big fan of Jay Culter, but with a sore knee I don’t know about this week. And the Chargers are a pretty dominant home team. I could see them getting up big on Denver and Cutler putting up some okay garbage numbers, but throwing a few picks in the process. So I think a ranking of #11 might be a tad high, but I don’t have a huge problem with it.

I guess you are taking my approach with Steven Jackson this week – ranking him low because he is going against the Steelers defense. Pittsburgh has not been as good lately defensively, however, so I see Jackson putting up Top 10 numbers this week in the dome at home.

I might have Marshawn Lynch a little too high at #10 for the week, but I think your ranking of #21 is a little low. The Giants looked really bad last week as a defensive unit and they have a lot of injuries on that side of the ball. I think Lynch has a good week and the Giants lose, setting up next week’s huge New England-NYG matchup in the Meadowlands.

My two biggest problems at wide receiver is your ranking of Chad Johnson at #3 (you must be smoking crack) and Kevin Curtis at #16. I assume you are ranking Johnson at #3 because he is facing the Browns and you will probably throw some stat out there about how he owns Cleveland throughout his career. That is all well and good, but he DOES NOT score touchdowns. For such an elite receiver, he does a shitty job at finding the endzone. He scores in bunches or not at all. I think there might be some bad weather this week in Ohio too so I think Johnson is going to disappoint you.

I know for a fact you ranked Curtis so high this week because he is facing New Orleans and you expect the game to be a shootout. The game might be a high-scoring affair, but don’t expect much from Curtis. He is also not a big touchdown producer and McNabb likes to dink and dunk with Brian Westbrook and tight ends. McNabb rarely throws downfield anymore, which is Curtis’ strength. I would be stunned if Curtis had more than 80 yards and/or scored a touchdown.

That’s everything my friend, I covered it all. You’re officially up to bat.

(Greg)Yeah, I’m friggin’ tired of this weather myself. At least we have a 4 day weekend upcoming… So this is the last week of our WTF debate for this season, and yes, you have beat me two of the last 3 weeks, although a 4-3 win three weeks ago isn’t exactly what you would call a whuppin’, as you have suggested. That being said…

The only thing that worries me about Palmer is the potential for bad weather again. If that is the case, then I would drop him way down. He has been filthy against CLE lately, and even though he hasn’t played well as of late, he’s too good a QB not to bust out again at some point. I think this is the week it happens…

As for Cutler, our rankings are not that surprising when compared to ESPN’s “Experts”. Two guys didn’t have him in their top 25, while the other 3 had him 12th, 14th, and 14th. His QB/INT ratio has been great lately (10/4 in his past 6, vs. 8/8 in his first 7 – didn’t include one week because of injury), and I expect at least 1 INT as well, but he’s been playing too well not to have in the top 12…

Like I said with Jackson, unless Bulger targets him a lot out of the backfield (which is possible), I see him having a really hard time running the ball tonight… He should still have 80+ total yards, but not enough for me to give him a spot in the top 10 this week…

As for Lynch, I agree; I probably should have had him about 5-6 spots higher, but not 10th. No beef there…

Again, if weather is a factor, then I do have Ocho Cinco too high. But right now it doesn’t sound like it going to be horrible in CIN on Sunday (45 degrees for the high, 30% chance of precipitation). And yes, I agree that Johnson only scores in bunches. I had him third because this is one of those weeks. And I already threw out a stat on CJ in my rankings, that since 2005 he is AVERAGING 9 for 131 per game against the Browns. Throw in a TD or two, and you have yourself a top 5 WR this week… With Curtis, again, I already went over why I have him so high in my rankings, so in case you missed it, he has dominated the sub-par pass defenses this year, and in terms of fantasy, the Saints are the worst. The past 3 weeks, the Saints have faced Luke McCown, Chris Redman, and Kurt Warner. Their #’s? 313, 2, & 1 for McCown, 298, 2, & 1 for Redman, and 233, 3, & 1 for Warner. Are you kidding me? Not that McNabb has been setting the world on fire this year, head and shoulders above all of them. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be a solid #2 this week, and he is my “Start” for that game… Having him ranked 36th is a disservice to the people who read this site!!!

As you mentioned at the top of the column, I don’t have a huge problem with most of your rankings either. With regards to our namesake, #30 seems a bit high considering that in his last 6 games he is averaging 41 YPG and has a 3.2 YPA. I know how Shanny is with his RB’s, but I think he’s going to stick with Young for the rest of the year…

I was pleasantly surprised to see that although you gave props to my boy Bowe, but you then proceeded to rank him 35th, which is too low. I know how bad Croyle is, but I don’t think he should be a non-starter in most leagues… Same goes with Steve Smith, who should finish in the top 25 for WR’s at worst this week. Matt Moore looked good last week, and because CAR will probably be playing from behind, he should put up decent numbers…

Alright, I’ve said enough. You can finish it out this week…

I have to really disagree with you on Curtis. This is very similar to a lot of the debates we’ve had this season. While looking at opposing defenses can be helpful for rankings and who to start/bench, I think it’s dangerous to assume that because Curtis is facing a suspect pass defense, he’ll put up good numbers. Say McNabb does go off as the last three quarterbacks have done against New Orleans, there is a good chance he will spread things around with Westbrook getting most of the love in the passing game. As mentioned, McNabb is clearly not the player he used to be and does not throw down field anymore – that hurts Curtis a lot. Curtis has had just three good games all season and four of his five touchdowns have come from 20+ yards. In other words, he is not reliable and does not get good looks in the red zone. I might have him a little too low at #36, but you will look foolish for having him at #16 just because he is facing the Saints.

I only ranked Dwayne Bowe in the Top 40 because he is facing a terrible Lions’ defense. I have ZERO faith in Brodie Croyle, however.

Steve Smith has done very little this year without Jake Delhomme, I think it’s safe to assume he will NOT put up Top 25 numbers with Matt Moore at quarterback. To say Moore looked good last week is a bit dramatic – he passed for 208 yards with no touchdowns and led his team to a whopping 13 points. No confidence in Steve Smittles right now.

I guess that is it partner. Hopefully we provided some insight and entertainment for our loyal readers, probably not though. Good luck to everyone out there and may all your fantasy football dreams come true!!!!

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