When I first started this blog, I was under the impression that any comments that were issued to me would result in an e-mail sent to my account saying that there were comments that needed to be approved. Since I never got any, I never thought any comments were being made. The only comments I saw, actually, were the two that were e-mailed to my account. Well, it took me a week and a half, but I finally figured out what was wrong. So, to all of you who tried to comment and ask me questions, I'm sorry. This blog technology I'm still getting used to. Now that I've figured it out, hopefully I can give you some good advice.
 
In one of my leagues, I played the best team in the league this week. After Sunday's games, I was only down by six points and I had two players going in the Monday nighter -- DeShawn Wynn and Donald Driver. In the bag for me, right? WRONG!!! Wynn gets hurt on his very first carry and gives me a goose-egg. Favre decides to make heroes out of Jacoby Jones and Greg Jennings, but only throws to Driver (his "No. 1 target") three times for 40-something yards. I didn't watch a lot of the game, so I don't know if Driver had a case of the dropsies. All I know is I prayed that Denver would send the game into OT so Driver could get a couple more catches. Denver tied it up before time ran out (YES!), Green Bay won the toss (DOUBLE-YES!), and Favre proceeds to find Jennings on the first freakin play for an 82-yard touchdown (NOOOOOOOO!!!!!). This is why the fantasy gods do not like me this year. Bringing back Steven Jackson for only a quarter and tantilizing me with 40 yards and a touchdown in that quarter was bad enough. But this just takes the cake! From 3-0 to 0-3. If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.
 
Hope your weeks were better than mine. Here's to a new week and a clean slate. Bring it on!

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For the first time this year, I went unbeaten with my fantasy teams on a weekend. This used to be a fairly common occurance in the past, but it took until Week 7 for it to happen for me. Coincidentally, it occured when the Browns were on a bye, and the Tribe lost Game 7 of the ALCS (I think the Indians need to replace the entire left side of their infield, but this blog is about fantasy football. Forgive me for the baseball tangent). I'd trade the 3-0 performance for a Tribe victory any day of the week, but oh well. Maybe the purging of my struggles in my actual fantasy column helped exorcise the demons that had been plaguing me, I don't know. But it sure seems coincidental. In one league (a league I run with some of my fellow writers), my team was in dead last place, but yet I outscored all 11 other teams (Kenny Watson rules!). Is it a comeback for me? I don't know. But suddenly, I feel much better about my chances at the playoffs and a Super Bowl berth. Plus, I'm finally getting Steven Jackson back.

After two blogs, and one full week of this, I received exactly one question. What gives?? Come on, people. I can help you help yourselves. Just give me a shot.

Back when someone else was writing this fantasy column, I used to joke that if you did everything the exact opposite of what he suggested, your team would be awesome. Most of the time, that was the case. I hope what I say in my column isn't given the same treatment as his was, but you know what, I'm still helping you out with the reverse psychology method. If benching everyone I say to start and starting everyone I say to bench works for you, hey, more power to you. Glad to see it's working. If that's the case, ask me a question, and to exactly what I said not to do. I won't be offended.

Finally, if you are seeking a defense this week thanks to the bye, you might be inclined to pick up the Giants unit (if, for some chance, they are available). Not only are they playing well, but they should excel against the patchwork, pathetic Miami offense. Other defenses to snag are Tampa Bay's vs. Jacksonville, Philly's vs. Minnesota, and Minnesota's vs. Philly.

If there's anything I hate more than anything, it's late injuries, or injuries that don't get reported during the week but get revealed just 10 minutes before gametime. The NFL supposedly cracked down on this covertness that was perfected by the likes of Mike Shanahan in Denver and our old buddy Bill Belichick in New England, but it's still ongoing. How many people were burned by Santonio Holmes missing the game because he tweaked a hamstring during warmups a few weeks ago? Or, how about Kurt Warner and his injured elbow last week? My only advice on this is be sure to monitor your favorite fantasy football Web site. CBSsportsline, where I have a couple of leagues through, actually post the list of all the inactive players a half-hour before game time (only for the 1 p.m. games, though). If your site provides this service (or actual daily injury updates), please take advantage of this. Especially if injuries are crippling your team, like all of mine, it's a life-saver.

By the way, I'm about tired of Steven Jackson. I hold out hope that he comes back next week against the Browns and their suspect run defense. I hope the Browns win, but Jackson runs for 150 and scores a couple of times.

Greetings and salutations.
After playing fantasy football for the last 11 years and writing a column
about it for The Morning Journal for the last three, this will be the first
time I attempt a blog on the subject. I¹m new to this, so bear with me.
What I aim to accomplish with the blog is to give you more information than
I can provide in my usual column format. Also, if you have any fantasy
football-related questions (i.e. Is this trade fair? Would you start this QB
over that one? Etc.), please feel free to post them to me on this blog, and
I will answer them to the best of my ability and knowledge.
Also, you can post comments and tell me how great I am or how much of a bum
I am, but remember to keep it PG-rated. This is a family newspaper, and
anything that ³crosses the line² will be deleted. I¹m just warning you.
As an added bonus today, here¹s something I¹d like to call ³Who¹s Hot and
Who¹s Not²:
Who¹s Hot
€ Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark has the second-highest fantasy points
per game average of all the tight ends so far (only behind Antonio Gates).
Before the bye week, Clark has ripped off four straight double-digit weeks.
The Colts using him as a wideout on occasion has really helped his
production.
€ Patriots wide receiver Donte Stallworth is finally showing his worth to
the New England offense. After four lackluster weeks, Tom Brady is finally
showing confidence in his other free agent wideout, putting up two straight
double-digit weeks. Snap him up if he¹s available, because the more
double-teams Randy Moss draws, the more chances Stallworth will have.
€ I think it¹s safe to say that, while Chad Johnson is more flamboyant, T.J.
Houshmandzadeh is becoming the more reliable fantasy stud. Housh has put up
four straight games scoring in the 20s, and he doesn¹t appear to stop now.
As Carson Palmer gains more confidence in ³Who¹s-your-mama,² the more you¹ll
be like the guy who drafts him in that fantasy football commercial and says
³Championship!²
€ Finally, after a slow start, LaDainian Tomlinson is finally back. A huge
game last week had L.T. score in the high 30s or 40s, depending on your
league¹s scoring system. That¹s something L.T. did for a living last season.
Maybe Norv Turner finally got the memo that he has something spectacular in
his backfield. Look for more big weeks from the top draft pick.
€ Remember when Tom Brady was being compared to Troy Aikman (a great NFL
quarterback but not a great fantasy QB)? Those days are gone. Brady may
threaten Peyton Manning¹s single-season touchdown record the way he¹s been
playing this season. Also, Jeff Garcia and Derek Anderson have really been
heating it up as of late. If either of these guys are dangling on your
league¹s waiver wire, what are you waiting for?
€ A pair of kickers who probably didn¹t get drafted, or at least drafted
late, are have been red-hot lately, thanks to their team¹s offenses being so
prolific. New England¹s Stephen Gostkowski and our own Phil Dawson now rank
among the high scorers for fantasy kickers. Gostkowski has scored in
double-figures in the last three games, while Dawson is coming off a
12-point game.
Who¹s Not
€ Vince Young began the season playing great, thanks to his running prowess.
But injuries and an overall poor performance have really led fantasy owners
to sour on him. He¹s scored a total of minus-2 points in the last two weeks.
€ Matt Schaub was another one who was playing very well as his surprising
Texans were winning, but it appears both he and his team are crashing back
to Earth. Schaub has scored three points in each of the last two weeks.
€ Tatum Bell is starting to be dropped in many leagues, and for good reason.
Not only is his performance slipping, but he may start losing carries to a
returning Kevin Jones. He started off with a bang, but he¹s been a huge
non-factor in the last three weeks.
€ Remember Fred Taylor? Jacksonville¹s real starting running back? He had a
decent game last week, but for the most part, he¹s been ice cold this
season. He has the same amount of fantasy points as Browns fullback Lawrence
Vickers. That¹s not good.
€ Deion Branch started the year with a big fat goose-egg, then rebounded
with three straight double-digit weeks. However, he¹s reverted back to his
Week 1 form in the last two weeks, putting up another goose-egg in last
week¹s loss to New Orleans.
Thanks, and good luck this week in your games. And, Go Tribe!