What bothers me about this, and what should bother at least 40% of every professional football team, is that the clear implication of this is that the defense is not an equal representative of the team. If the Seahawks’ offense scores a touchdown, the Seahawks get six points, right? If the Seahawks’ defense gives up a field goal, the Seahawks are now down thee, right? I realize there can be more subtlety to the statistical considerations, but in the end I am completely unmoved by the argument that when team A wins the coin flip there’s a possibility that team B will “never get a chance of their own.” They’ve got 11 men on the field, same as the other guys. How is this grossly unfair? And if it’s a little teeny bit unfair, well, the great 9th century philosopher Dennisus Learyus summed it up when he said “life sucks, get a f#*@in’ helmet!” Man up, D, and get a stop.

Note that, as a nascent Seahawks fan, I know what I’m talking about when I say a team can win the coin-flip and lose the game. Right, Matt?

Mostly, though, Kurt Warner was simply a very accurate, patient quarterback on Sunday who made good decisions while, at the same time, the Eagles secondary players were performing at par level. They weren’t particularly screwing up nor were they embarassing themselves, but Warner was performing at a very high level, his receivers were performing their jobs well, and by and large the Eagles didn’t execute as well. This is quite different, though, from the Eagles failing to execute their game plan, or making dumb decisions. Pressuring the quarterback is smart against a team that passes a lot, but when two sets of 11 very talented men perform against one another, you can do a good job and still not succeed sometimes.

It’s funny that I’m writing two of these posts almost in a row; as a fan, I always root for my teams to win. I sat in the stands a lot when I was younger and I can’t imagine consoling myself after a bad game by coming up with reasons why losing is good. Maybe this is a change in perspective that comes from only watching games on TV occasionally and reading about them in the paper? Am I out to lunch?

I lost this week and it wasn’t close: 117-99, an 18 point victory that means he could’ve not played his quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and still beat me by a point. The irony? Every single move that I made was a good one! Check it:

• Peyton Manning outscored Jay Cutler, 18-10.
• Vincent Jackson outscored the receiver he replaced, Amani Toomer, 12(!)-3.
• My running backs: Jones-Drew (played) - 18, Williams (played) 14, Tomlinson (sat) - 12, Jacobs (out injured) - 0.
• Pittsburgh DEF over Chicago - 10-5.
• I even made a good last minute call - Jason Elam was reported to have a gimpy leg so I dropped him for Rob Bironas of Tennessee. Bironas 14(!!), Elam 7.

So given all of that, how could I lose? Easy, in two parts. First, my opponent was a beast, led by Michael Turner’s 24. He sat an injured Marion Barber for Stephen Jackson (how’s that for depth), who went for 18. Randy Moss for 18. Baltimore’s defense for 11. The only player who could be said to really under-perform for him was Brandon Marshall with 4.

Meanwhile, my Roddy White went for 6, Terrell Owens added 3, and Jason Whitten chipped in 4. Not absolutely atrocious (well, Owens for 3 was sad) but typically not enough to sink me. This, of course, is why my opponent was the #1 seed this year.

So there you have it, my first year of Fantasy Football. I really learned a lot. The few moves I made supported by a lot of research were either good or neutral; anything intuitive killed me. I drafted far too many players that were a year or two past their prime, hoping they’d continue to stay healthy. One of those, maybe two, can be ok, but I lived and died by the injury report, more than others in the league. And, I learned that fantasy football is a lot of fun. I’ll be back; thanks for reading!

New Huskie coach Sarkisian

Not that I think anybody read my posts on the subject, but I’m still glad that the University of Washington followed my advice and hired Steve Sarkisian, the offensive coordinator at Southern Cal, as their new football coach. Like I said before, UW wasn’t getting themselves a first-rate coach in their current predicament. The one potential exception was Mike Leach from Texas Tech, if only because he’s thought to be enough of a cantankerous coot that he couldn’t get a job to match his stature. I still say he was a non-starter and that the Texas Tech position is as prestigious as the UW job, if only while Leach has it.

In any case, there’s no guarantee that Sarkisian will work out, but he’s exactly the sort of hire that Washington needed to make, so kudos to them for doing the right thing. God, trying to care for this program is hard, let something go right for them!

The good news, as I already leaked yesterday, is that I won the round. The bad news, I yet again made poor decisions that left points on the bench. Once again, the key decisions are at QB, RB, and defense.

• I started Cutler (vs. Kansas City) over Manning (vs. Cincinnati). Fail, to the tune of 22-29.
• I started Brandon Jacobs (vs. Philadelphia) and LaDanian Tomlinson (vs. Oakland) over DeAngelo Williams (vs. Tampa Bay and their supposedly-staunch run defense) and Maurice Jones-Drew (at Chicago).  Jacobs: 5. LT: 15. Williams: 30. Jones-Drew: 15. So, half-wash, half-25 point screw up.
• Chicago had 9, Pittsburgh had 23. Yep, another 14 points on the bench.

So, despite winning my match (the Yetis only got 15 from all receivers and another 15 from running backs) I still left 46 points on the bench. I’d be a monster if I could just get out of my own way. This is particularly rough since I get the #1 seed next week, and he would’ve gone for 96 or so if he hadn’t had a bye. The other match that week also went 106-97, so both of them would’ve beat me.

So, it’s the big game next week, against the #1 seed (it’s a semi-final, but still). Here are my decisions:

• QB: Peyton vs. Detroit or Cutler @ Carolina. I may be horrible at this, but there’s no way not to take Peyton Manning.
• WR: They’re fixed at Terrell Owens, Roddy White, and Vincent Jackson, a pick-up I just made to replace Amani Toomer. Toomer was a “smart” pick by me that bit me in the ass last week. I gave up Santana Moss to get him, which was fine (Moss hasn’t done much lately and didn’t last week, either) but still left me with no depth at WR.
• RB: Tomlinson @ Kansas City (#31 run defense), DeAngelo Williams vs. Denver (#26), Jacobs @ Dallas (#9), Jones-Drew vs. Green Bay (#27). I think my season comes down to good picks here. I can’t not play DeAngelo Williams, at home vs. a suspect defense. Jacobs feels like an easy sit, but whenever I think that I screw up. Tomlinson is facing the worst overall defense, and he both runs and catches well. Jones-Drew is home, against a bad defense, and he feels due. I hate playing the guy that “feels” due, however. Hell, I don’t have to decide this yet, so I’m going to wait on opinions or more information. Feel free to make a suggestion!
• Defense: Pittsburgh is at Baltimore and the Bears host the Saints.  Over the last three weeks it hasn’t been close, and the Steelers are incredibly up for this game. I’m not picking a winner, just a defense, so Pittsburgh gets the call.

At the moment, with Jones-Drew penciled in, Yahoo! predicts my victory, 109-100, but those predictions are crap; they’ve had Tomlinson rated at his last-year production each week. :p

Oh, last. Here’s the side-by-side match-up:

• QB: Manning vs. Aaron Rodgers
• WRs: White, Owens, and Jackson vs. Greg Jennings, Randy Moss, and lee Evans.
• RBs: Williams and Jones-Drew vs. Michael Turner and Marion “bad-toe” Barber (oh please oh please oh please…)
• TE: Jason Whitten vs. Antonio Gates
• K: Jason Elam vs. Mason Crosby
• DEF: Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore (neat, huh?)

For starters, I made some correct decisions for once in my fantasy life. In week 12, I didn’t really make any roster moves, other than deciding who should start and who should sit. Those decisions play out in three key areas: QB, RB, and Defense.  Cutler was facing Oakland which, despite being an awful team, doesn’t actually have that bad of a secondary, so I went with Peyton Manning instead; Manning out-scored Cutler 20-6 over a tough San Diego defense. Running back is a pretty tough bunch to choose between, but out of Brandon Jacobs (at Arizona), Maurice Jones-Drew (vs. the Vikings), LaDanian Tomlinson (vs Indy) and DeAngelo Williams (at Atlanta), I went with LT and Williams. Well, Jacobs was a late scratch for his knee and Jones-Drew tied my lower back (LT), so win #2. Finally, I had Chicago at St. Louis and Pittsburgh hosting the Bengals. Normally I’d take the home team, but Bengals/Steelers is a divisional game and I just figured that the Rams were going to bad, home or away. Sure enough, the Bears D outscored Pittsburgh 20-7. That week my opponent put up 107 points (that’s a lot even if this league), but thanks to a rare swath of sound judgement I managed 119 for a solid victory.

The win put me at 6-6 and, thanks to a very bunched league, within reach of the #2 seed! It would take a victory with a *lot* of points (to cover a potential tie-breaker) and a loss by a 6-5-1 team. Conceivable, but tough.

Well, remember those great decisions I made in week #12? Yeah, reverse that *entirely* and you’ve got my week #13. Here are my key decision points that week:

• Peyton (at Cleveland) over Cutler (at the Jets). *sigh* Manning scored 1 whole point, vs. Jay Cutler’s 24.
• I played LaDanian Tomlinson (12 points) and Jones-Drew (4!), over Brandon Jacobs’ 13 and DeAngelo Williams’ 32(!).
• Chicago - 3. Pittsburgh - 19. No bonus points for guessing which one I started.

Essentially, I had three things go right for me. 1) My receivers went for 29, including 15 from (ugh) Terrell Owens. 2) Jason Whiten got healthy on Thanksgiving, scoring 17. 3) I played the worst team in the league, decimated by injuries (hello, Tom Brady). I win the futility bowl, 75-64. My tie-breaker scenarios don’t pan out, so I’m the fourth seed in a 6 team league. BUT! I do finish with a winning record, 7-6.

Tomorrow, how my 1st playoff game went.

Knowshon, but for how long?

The Georgia Bulldogs ended their season last week with a 45-42 loss to Ga. Tech, in Athens no less. I know, it’s far too late to break the game down; fine, don’t wanna. (My bumper sticker of choice in college said “Avoid the rush, hate Tech now.” So, yeah.) I just want to take a moment to suggest that this was a gift in disguise for the Bulldogs as a program. The only thing better, in my mind, is if the Dawgs go out and lose their bowl game. I won’t actually be able to bring myself to root against them, but I’m as sure about this as pro fans who hope their mediocre team (I’m looking at you, Seahawks) will go in the tank to secure a high draft position. Let me exaplain why.

Both Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are considered possible early entrants in this year’s NFL draft; Stafford, in particular, is considered to have a more pro-ready arm than any senior QB in the country.  The loss of these two would definitely set back the hopes of Georgia team that was considered a national title contender in the pre-season. With their potential All-American left tackle, Trinton Sturdivant, coming back from injury next year, the stars will be mis-aligned if the other lynchpins of the Bulldog’s offense have bolted for the NFL.

So, yes, for the moment I think the ‘dawgs interests are served if those two young men have a little shine taken off of their stars, thus encouraging them to come back next year and improve their stock. The star tailback of a National Champion Bulldog team has a lot less reason to stick around than the dinged-up tailback of a 9-4 Outback Bowl loser. I certainly wish them both well over the long course of their careers, but can they please wait a year before cashing in?

Thanks, Tom!

Tommy Tuberville’s decided to resign from Auburn University recently; at least, that’s what the AD says. Whether he quit or was fired, though, this is bad news for the University of Washington. After the Tennessee job was filled, UW could at least position itself as the job vacancy with the most reflected glory attached to it; after all, UW has half of a national championship to its name in the last twenty years, and has been bowl-competitive in the last decade. True, the current sustained awfulness makes the job a lot less desirable to anyone who doesn’t want a massive clean-up job, but Huskies could at least kid themselves into thinking that  Mike Leach, for example, would see a once-proud Pac-10 program as an upgrade from Texas Tech.

Now, though, that’s just ridiculous. At least until Auburn gets filled, the idea that a successful coach with dreams of performing on a bigger stage would take an 0-12 Pac-10 doormat over a 5-7 Auburn team that was competitive even this year, nevermind the recent past, is absurd. (h/t Andy Schlafly.)  Which takes us back to my previous advice (’cause this is all about me, never forget…) that UW find itself a smart, hungry assistant from an established program and give them a bigger promotion than they might normally deserve. Taking a chance on somebody with good intangibles but no resume is their best shot at a fast(ish) turn around.

• Prior to week 8, I had offered up a couple of trade that would have upgraded a couple of my opponents but would have upgraded me even more over the multiple trades; in other words, I make 2 opponents ~5 points better, but over the deals make myself ~10 points better. Alas, neither of them took me up on the offers, so I worked the free agent list a bit. In the end, though, I merely started Brett Favre over Peyton Manning, which was a 5-point mistake on my part. Fortunately Santana Moss, Roddy White, and LaDanian Tomlinson all went over 20, leading to a 9-point win over the doormat of the leauge; final score 111-102. Sad, but true.
• Week 9 saw me meddle around some more, sending Favre packing again (just can’t trust him) and picking up Maurice Jones-Drew. In hindsight that might seem prophetic, but he actually han’t busted out just yet. On the other hand, I had to soak up LT’s bye week so he was better than nothing. Once again, however, I failed at picking my QB, as Cutler scored 18 while Manning left his 24 on the bench. This week’s match-up pitted me against an opponent, however, whose team completely failed to show up, and I actually had a comfortable 81-70 win. From 2-5 to 4-5, maybe things aren’t so bad, right?
• Wrong. Week 10 faced me up against the league’s best team, and he proved it with an easy 99-86 mash. It figures, even when I pick a 27-point QB I manage to leave Cutler’s 35 on the bench. I had also dropped Maurice Jones-Drew that week, when he then proceeded to trash the Lions for 27. Add in two receivers who combined for 1 point, and, well, yeah - I lost. One interesting personnel note: Jason Witten was dropped, thanks to poor Cowboys quarterbacking and a team owner’s need to tinker with a few bye weeks. Frankly, a tight end on a bye is no worse than Anthony Fasano, who I’ve been starting the entire season. I scoop him up for the future. At any rate, my record is 4-6 and things are looking grim.

So, we come to week 11. I ponder and I consider, and for the most part I reason that it’s time to start a 1st string that I can live with. I crunch a few numbers (I have to say, Yahoo! Sports Fantasy leagues offer a nice set of features at the free level) and decide that DeAngelo Williams of the Panthers is a solid running candidate, particularly sicne LT remains untrustworthy. My receivers are all back, so I figure it’s time to let them roll. My roster this week:

• QB - Peyton Manning
• WR - Roddy White
• WR - Terrell Owens
• WR - Santana Moss
• RB - Brandon Jacobs
• RB - DeAngelo Williams
• TE - Jason Witten
• K - Jason Elam
• DEF - Pittsburgh (over Chicago on the bench)

And finally, I make a few accurate personnel choices. Peyton put up 24, versus 14 for Jay Cutler. LaDanian Tomlinson kept his 15 on the bench while Jacobs and Williams scored 19 and 24, respectively. Hell, Pittsburgh went for 12, as opposed to Chicago’s singleton. Sadly, sort of, I wasted an amazing week on my opponent’s relatively limp showing, with a final score of 106-62.

This coming week, I don’t have many decisions to make, although I did reaquire Maurice Jones-Drew after his last couple of games. With two games to play before the playoffs, I’m in 5th place (out of 6) at 5-6. It’s a very tight league, I could still end up as high as 2nd, although that’s not likely. This week’s game is against another 5-6 team that relies heavily on the New Orleans Saints.