Peyton Manning's Possible Landing Spot

As most of you know Peyton Manning and the Colts decided, well the Colts decided, to part ways after 14 years of blissful marriage. Since being taken 1^st overall in the 1998 NFL Draft, remember when people thought Ryan Leaf was the bid? Whoops, the name Peyton Manning has become synonymous with the horseshoe on the side of the helmet. He is Johnny Unitas for the latest generation of Colts fans. He brought the Colts franchise its first championship since sneaking away to Indianapolis in the middle of the night and its first championship since Unitas led them to 4 titles between 1958-1970. He put the Colts back on the map after years of misery and proved to be one of the greatest QB’s of all time alongside Joe Montana, Steve Young, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, etc.

But after missing all of last season, his 14^th season in the NFL technically, due to multiple neck surgeries where finally a cadaver bone was fused into his neck the Colts were forced to make a decision on whether or not he was worth committing $28 million to this year and a total of roughly $70 million over the next 4 yeas. Coming off a horrendous year and owning the rights to the first overall pick and uber prospect Andrew Luck the Colts decided it didn’t make sense to commit that much money to two players at the QB position thus Manning became ‘expendable’. Now that Peyton has been made a free agent it’s up to him to choose where he’d like to continue his surefire Hall of Fame career. Below I’ve made a list of the 6 places (5 rumored to have expressed interest and one sleeper team I think should make a play) in order that I think would best suit Manning and are most likely to make a move for him. That’s why you’ll see the Jets who talent wise would be the best but already have a Sanchize in place not listed no. 1.

1.   Miami Dolphins

If you’ve read the news reports recently it appears that the Dolphins have already landed Manning behind closed doors. The Dolphins make perfect sense for Manning, it’s a warm weather climate, he already owns a condo in the Miami area, the team always fields a very strong defense, and offensively there are some good pieces in place namely a young, strong offensive line led by fellow first overall pick LT Jake Long. One major reason that the Colts teams Manning captained for years only broke through and won it all only one time is because the team was too offensive based and struggled on the defensive side of the ball. In Miami defense tends to come first, which is a trait that I think appeals greatly to Manning. Offensively the Dolphins have some good toys for Manning to play with in WR Brandon Marshall, who can have a case of the dropsies more often than not but is an all world talent, fellow WRs Davone Bess and Brian Hartline, TE Anthony Fasano, and RB’s Reggie Bush, who played like a number one cow bell back last year racking up over 1,000 yards, and young speedster Daniel Thomas. The pieces are in place for Manning to come in and help lead the Dolphins to a playoff bid at the very least.

2.   Kansas City Chiefs (SLEEPER ALERT)

I’ve been following the Manning saga unfold for the past couple days now and almost no one has mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs as a possible destination and I can’t figure out why? Because they have Matt Cassel? Good one, try again. The two things that completely derailed the Chiefs season last year after taking a great step forward into the playoffs was the injury to All Pro RB Jamaal Charles and then injuries at the QB position. As a Patriots fan I’m a Matt Cassel fan don’t get me wrong but if he can lead them to a 10-6 record in a weak AFC West Peyton Manning should be able to get them to at least 13 wins and a first round bye. Cassel has been a good quarterback in the few years he’s had the opportunity to play but he’s also had some injury concerns and isn’t on the level of Peyton Manning. The Chiefs have a solid, young offensive line built upon through recent drafts, a great running back in Charles, a solid receiving corps led by WR Dwayne Bowe and TE Tony Moeaki, and a young defense with solid pieces in place. Like the Dolphins they Chiefs have built from the defense to the offense and with new head coach and defensive wizard Romeo Crennel the defense should get even better. The Chiefs provide Manning an opportunity to almost guarantee a playoff berth next year by its sheer placement in the weak AFC West. Once there he could do some damage with an electrifying back like Jamaal Charles to keep defenses honest. The Chiefs would have to find a way to move Cassel to free up the cap space for Manning but I’m sure that wouldn’t be a problem.

3.   New York Jets

From a talent standpoint the Jets are probably ahead of the Dolphins on this list but there are plenty of extracurricular that don’t seem to be appealing to Manning. As far as weapons are concerned Manning would have a lot of fun with Santonio Holmes, when he’s not being a moron, Plaxico Burress (if he resigns or if they go after Braylon Edwards if you believe the rumors), Dustin Keller, an amazing weapon at tight end, and Shonn Greene. The Jets also have a good offensive line in place behind C Nick Mangold and LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson. The drawbacks? There are many. For starters he would have to put up with Mr. Abrasive Rex Ryan, the New York media always being on his ass, the constant dissention that seems to be occurring in the Jets locker room, and having to share the big city with his younger brother who has recently been the bigger winner. I’m sure the Jets would love to score Manning but they’ve also committed long term time and again to Mark Sanchez, even though he seems to have plateaued, and would need to move his money. I don’t see it in the cards.

4.   Seattle Seahawks

I like what the Seahawks have to offer but I don’t think Manning wants to go to the unfamiliar NFC or the Pacific Northwest. Pete Carroll has built a decent little program up there in Seattle after leaving USC in ruins by developing a solid, young offensive line and finding the good in RB Marshawn Lynch. All in all though I don’t think Manning wants to head out to the west coast this late in his career or deal with the inclement weather that tends to strike the Pacific Northwest in the fall. Seahawks would like Manning but I don’t think Manning would want the Seahawks.

5.   Arizona Cardinals

I have the Cardinals as fifth on this list but Manning could pull a shocker and pick them based on the fact that they play in a beautiful environment, it’s always warm never a chance of showers or snow, he can get a condo there and simulate the Miami weather, and they have WR Larry Fitzgerald. In my eyes Fitzgerald is the key piece to Manning possibly heading to the desert. If Manning wants to throw to arguably the best wide receiver in football then he needs to look no further than Arizona. The Cardinals made a good run down the stretch this year and almost pulled off a playoff berth with John Skelton at the helm. Manning could easily lead them to a NFC West crown and a playoff berth. The Cards have some pieces in place but I don’t know if they have enough to draw Manning to the NFC. The obvious problem here is the Cards just shelled out $50 million to Kevin Kolb who hasn’t proven yet he can be a number one QB. They’d need to move him before Manning would entertain the thought of heading out to the desert.

6.   Washington Redskins

Ah yes, the Redskins. If you’ve been reading the reports put forth by numerous news sources then you know that the Redskins plan on putting a full court press on the All Pro QB. While its well and great that Daniel Snyder has deep pockets and has no problem paying out the nose for Manning the bigger problem here is that there is almost nothing redeeming about the situation in the nation’s capital for Manning to walk in to. Outside of the fact that the Redskin’s are a marquee franchise in the NFL, though if you didn’t watch football during the first Joe Gibbs era you only know the Redskins as a dysfunctional bunch, the current squad is nothing to write home about. There defense has a few playmakers in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan but is otherwise suspect and offensively there’s nothing there. Roy Helu had a nice rookie year but he’s not the type of back you get too jacked up about and their best wide receiver Santana Moss is currently a free agent. Mike Shanahan also isn’t the type of coach that Manning has thrived under, no one would ever confuse his tactics for those of Tony Dungy. As I said before as well the Redskins play in the NFC, con, they aren’t warm weather ideal, con, and Peyton would have to play his brother twice a year, con. I think that about sums up the Redskins chances of landing Peyton and his golden right arm.

Other possibilities that have emerged recently: Denver Broncos, Houston Texans (they’d be the best fit of all if the rumors are true and they are willing to part with Matt Schaub and mortgage the future to win now)

There’s the list of possibilities for Peyton Manning as I see it folks and in the end I see him winding up with the Miami Dolphins. But hey that’s just one man’s opinion let us know where you think Peyton will find himself throwing touchdown passes next year! Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski

Fantasy Forum Week 14: Studs/Duds

For most of your leagues across the ESPN and Yahoo! Fantasy football platforms the playoffs begin this week if you were fortunate enough to get that far. For all of you in the playoffs good luck going forward and for those of you who playing in the consolation bracket well there’s always going to be next year. Without further adieu let’s move on to your week 14 studs and duds.

STUDS

Carson Palmer QB Oakland Raiders vs. the Green Bay Packers

Palmer has actually been a pretty good starting QB for the Raiders and fantasy owners alike since being inserted in week 9. He hasn’t scored below 10 points in the 5 games posting lines of 19, 15, 16, 10, and 16, respectively. The Packers score points in bunches and force other teams to throw. Luckily for their opponents their secondary hasn’t been all that solid this year and has been giving up yardage at a record pace, luckily for the Packers the Patriots pass defense has been even worse thus they aren’t last in the league. I see the Raiders getting down early and Palmer being forced to the air early and often. It’s not going to be pretty but he’ll put up over 300 yards and a few scores.

Stats: 326 yards, 3 TDs, 2 Ints

Chris Johnson RB Tennessee Titans vs. New Orleans Saints

After sucking thru the first 8 games of the year Johnson has turned it on the past 4 weeks, minus a 2 point performance against the stout Falcons run defense, scoring above 17 points 3 times. In those three games Johnson has gone for at least 130 yards with 3 scores total. He’s always a threat to catch a few passes out of the backfield and the Saints don’t do an overly good job of stopping the run. The key for Johnson is the Titans not being forced to the air too early for him to be able to find running lanes cause they’ll be there. I’m thinking that the Johnson from the past two weeks and last season is going to show up again in week 14.

Stats: 22 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD, 4 rec, 32 yards, 0 TD

Dez Bryant WR Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants 

The Cowboys have been taking to the air in the recent weeks with Bryant and Laurent Robinson being the main beneficiaries. Tony Romo has been throwing TD passes at a pretty good clip and Bryant’s reeled in at least 1 score in 3 of the last 4 games. This week I don’t see being any different when you look at the Giants 29^th ranking against the pass. Miles Austin is returning this weekend but I only see that helping Bryant get open. I expect to see Bryant dancing in the end zone.

Stats: 6 rec, 89 yards, 1 TD

DUDS

T.J. Yates QB Houston Texans vs. Cincinnati Bengals

A rookie QB without his top WR against a top 5 defense? I’ll pass thank you very much. Yates scored in double digits last week, 10 points, but that was with Andre Johnson reeling in 4 catches for 97 yards before he was forced to exit the game after he hurt his hamstring. That hamstring is going to keep him out of this week’s matchup with the stingy Bengals defense leaving Yates to lean on TE Owen Daniels who’s been a no show all year and WR Jacoby Jones who can’t seem to grab onto the reigns as a number one wideout. The Texans are going to lean heavily on RB Arian Foster and keep the ball out of Yates hands. Sit him.

Stats: 159 yards, 1 TD, 2 Ints

Dwayne Bowe WR Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets pass defense

Bowe hasn’t found the end zone in 7 straight games and he’s about to take a vacation on to Revis Island. Advantage: Revis and the Jets. Tyler Palko is also still going to be under center for the Chiefs after Kyle Orton hurt himself last week after 1 play last week against the Bears. That equals bad news for Bowe and the Chiefs. He’ll get targeted but I don’t see him reeling in too many of those targets and especially none in the red zone.

Stats: 4 rec, 45 yards, 0 TD

Pierre Garcon WR Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens

Garcon has had 3 huge games this year scoring over 24 points in each of them. The other 9 games he hasn’t been able to crack 8 points with outputs of 3, 2, 8, 3, 3, 6, 2, 4, and 3. He reeled in 2 TDs against the worst pass defense the league has ever known, the record books will confirm this at the end of the year, and racked up 150 yards on 9 catches. With Dan Orlovsky at QB attempting to become the first man to ever lead two teams to 0-16 records I don’t see Garcon repeating that success against the 7^th ranked Baltimore Ravens pass defense. The offense isn’t strong enough all around to support Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon having huge games and if I had to put my money on of them I’d take Wayne and his past success. Don’t look to either though to carry your team with a weak offensive line and Dan Orlovsky throwing the passes.

Stats: 3 rec, 36 yards, 0 TD

There you have it my faithful readers week 14 of the NFL is about to get underway and you now know who to start and who to sit. Good luck in the playoffs! Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski

NFL Playoff Picture Getting Clearer: AFC Breakdown

We’re now through 12 weeks and the playoff race in the AFC has started to take a more definitive shape. There are 9 teams vying for 6 spots, the cutoff is the Bills at 10 so sorry Buffalo but losing 4 in a row and your top offensive player in Fred Jackson doesn’t allow you to be vying for a playoff spot anymore. Of those 9 teams the Bengals, Broncos, and Titans all appear to shift from week to week on whether they are pretenders or contenders. I know that Denver starts Tim Tebow at quarterback and shouldn’t really be in this conversation but there’s not much else to say other than he’s 5-1 as a starter and the team, mostly the defense, rallies around him more and more each week. They can’t score a lick and I’m pretty sure John Fox has Tebow running a dumbed down version of the offense from “Football for Dumbies” but a win is a win. Back to the subject at hand this isn’t going to be a rant or rave about Tim Tebow but a look at all the teams, here is how the AFC top 9 line up currently:

1. Houston Texans (8-3)
2. New England Patriots (8-3)
3. Baltimore Ravens (8-3)
4. Oakland Raiders (7-4)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (7-4)
7. New York Jets (6-5)
8. Denver Broncos (6-5)
9. Tennessee Titans (6-5)

Now let’s break these standings down and I’m going to throw at you how I think this race is going to shake out.

You are seeing straight that is the Houston Texans sitting in the top slot. A franchise that has never had a winning record is currently your number one seed though I see that changing in the near future with the news that Matt Leinart is out for the year and the team just signed Jake “Day Light Come And I Wanna” Delhomme. The Texans are still going to win the weak AFC South but I don’t see them holding onto the top spot over the likes of the Patriots and Steelers. They’ll settle in nicely to the 3 seed ahead of the (spoiler alert!) AFC West champion Oakland Raiders. The other shoo-ins as far as this blogger is concerned are the Patriots, Ravens, and Steelers. Those three teams know how to win when the mercury drops below 32 and the calendar turns to January, I don’t see that changing this year. All three sit at 8-3 with each having the possibility of running the table. The Patriots play an extremely weak schedule the last 5 weeks of the year so I see them penciling in as the 1 seed with a 13-3 final tally. The Steelers and Ravens will battle it out for the other bye and the 2 seed. I’m going to lean towards the Ravens since they’ve already beaten the Steelers twice thus owning the tiebreaker. All they have to do is play the Steelers even down the stretch and they get the coveted bye through the wildcard weekend. Steelers will finish either 12-4 or 11-5 securing themselves the 5 seed behind the 4 division winners. Between the Patriots, Ravens, Texans, and Steelers that’s four spots out of six locked down let’s take a peek at who might grab those final two openings.

Handicapping The Rest of the Field

We’ve now decided the definite lets look at who’s left and who is going to punch a ticket to the dance and who’s going to be left out in the cold. I’m going to eliminate the Tennessee Titans from the race right off the bat. CJ1K has been a ghost all year and has only had two really good games all year and they came against the porous run defenses of the Tampa Bay Bucs and Carolina Panthers. Against everyone else he’s struggled to break the 40-yard mark while Matt Hasselbeck has been firing off interceptions like it’s going out of style. They still have games against the Saints and Texans left I don’t see them cracking the 10 wins it takes to even sniff the playoffs. Titans are off the list.

Next team up that I’m going to eliminate is those pesky Denver Broncos. There hasn’t been a simpler offense run in the NFL since the ball was oval shaped and passing was considered awkward at best. The Broncos beat the Chiefs a few weeks ago after attempting only 8 passes, completing 2, and running the ball 55 times. This week they beat the free falling Chargers in OT with Tebow completing 9-18 and running the ball over 20 times. I personally fall under the belief that it’s more of an indictment on the Chargers and Chiefs not playing well than the belief that this high school option offense will have continued success at the NFL level. There’s a reason that option quarterbacks don’t transition from college to the pros if they did the quarterbacks of Army, Navy, and the Air Force would all be top 10 picks. Tebow is winning now but teams will realize he’s not a threat to pass the ball effectively and the magic will run out. Broncos land on the outside looking in.

Eliminating the Broncos means that I’m crowning the Oakland Raiders the AFC West champions as I mentioned a few paragraphs above. The Raiders have actually been playing halfway decent with Carson Palmer steering the ship and Michael Bush picking up the slack while Run DMC’s foot heals. When the Raiders get him back and have their entire WR corps healthy the Raiders will stand a punchers chance moving forward. They can hold off the Broncos and their Tebowing. They’re in as AFC West champions and the 4 seed.

Then there were two…the current 6 seed Cincinnati Bengals and the 7 seed New York Jets. It kills me to say this as a diehard Pats fan but I’m going to concede the 6 seed to the Jets in the end. They have an easier schedule down the stretch than the Bengals and though Mark Sanchez has done nothing to show he has a semblance of consistency he’s been to the AFC Championship game twice and can somewhat handle playing under stress. The Bengals are lead by a rookie quarterback who has exceeded all expectations in the redheaded fireball Andy Dalton. Dalton has had an extraordinary season by all accounts but I don’t think he can beat the Texans, Steelers and Ravens down the stretch while the Jets get the likes of the Redskins, Chiefs, reeling Eagles, Giants, and Dolphins. The Jets have a pretty good shot at winning out whereas the Bengals would do well to win 2 out of 3 of those games, their other two games are against the Rams and Cardinals I’m going to chalk those up as W’s. The Bengals have had a much better year than anticipated in year 1 of the Dalton experience and I think next year they’ll be dancing with the big boys but this year they’re going to be left waiting for a prom date. Jets wrap up the 6th seed and if there’s justice for being obnoxious ego inflated pricks they’ll be bounced in round 1 by the Texans. If not then hopefully the Steelers or Ravens can serve them papers in round 2.

There you have it folks that’s why I see the AFC playoff race playing out and stay tuned for my take on the NFC race tomorrow night. Let me know what you think.

Geoff Jablonski

Fantasy Forum: Sell High, Buy Low Candidates

It’s that time of year in fantasy football. In all of your leagues it’s become clear who’s a contender and who’s a pretender. For those of you in prime position to make a run at your leagues ‘Shiva Bowl’ (if you’re a dedicated follower of The League like I am you’ll know that this is a synonym for the championship) it’s time to start scavenging the bottom feeders’ rosters for upgrades. As a staff we have put together a group of 10 players, 5 in each category, to target or move along for parts from two categories: sell high or buy low. Editor Note:  All fantasy point totals are done using ESPN’s standard scoring system.

SELL HIGH CANDIDATES

Matthew Stafford, QB Detroit Lions

Stafford is currently the 5^th ranked QB according to ESPN averaging 18.4 pts per game. Those numbers are deceiving though given that he hasn’t scored above 20 points since week 3 posting 14, 15, 19, and 11 points subsequently. Defenses are adjusting to the fact that Lions have no running game to speak of and as is always the case with Stafford injuries are starting to rear their ugly head again. He hasn’t made it through a full season in his young career due to an assortment of injuries. He’s made it thru the first 7 weeks this season but is questionable for week 8 with an ankle injury and has a slippery shoulder that could come out of joint at any moment. If you have the chance to flip Stafford for some quality at another position (RB, WR) you’ve been given the green light.

Mark Sanchez, QB New York Jets

The ‘Sanchize’ is currently the 10^th ranked QB in ESPN scoring at 14.6 points per game. Sanchez has never thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in a season and he’s currently at +6 touchdowns to picks this year; that ratio will come back to earth before it’ll head the other direction. He’s also been a running threat like never before helping to buoy his stats in a positive direction. He’s been sitting in the 13 or 14-point range with one game at 26 and one disaster night against Baltimore at -4. I see him falling back to earth a little bit more and not scoring many games above 15 points the rest of the year. Also hurting his value is Rex Ryan’s desire to get back to ground n’ pound. Flip him to someone in your league who is convinced that a player’s ability to win in real football means anything in fantasy football.

Calvin Johnson, WR Detroit Lions

Megatron is sitting atop the WR rankings after 7 weeks and deservedly so. He chalked up 2 TD’s in each of the first 4 games of the year and has 10 on the year, not too shabby to say the least. Given that and the fact that he’s been down in scoring a little bit (11 and 17 past two weeks) and that Stafford appears destined for an injury I think that he’s the perfect guy to swap with someone for a stud RB that’ll help you out the rest of the year. Megatron is a great player don’t get me wrong but he’s not going to have another stretch as hot as the one he did in weeks 1-5. He’ll score around 15 points a game the rest of the year but if you can land a RB (maybe Adrian Peterson or Ray Rice) that has the potential and tends to sit around 20 points a game I say make the move. WR is also a very volatile position due to its dependence on the QB position I tend to think they are easier to replace than other positions.

Larry Fitzgerald, WR Arizona Cardinals

His wagon is attached to Kevin Kolb and that’s not a good thing. Fitz is a great talent and he will always get targets and yards but his numbers have a low ceiling due to Kolb’s inability to get Fitz the ball downfield. The only comparable talent when the ball is in the air deep is Calvin Johnson but the problem is Kolb isn’t a deep thrower. Fitzgerald hasn’t been a total fantasy stud since Kurt Warner retired and I don’t see that changing any time the rest of this year. He’s currently ranked 12^th in ESPN formats but you can still sell him very high due to his name recognition and people’s desire to believe that Kevin Kolb is better than he really is. If you’ve got him and can get great value in return for him go right ahead and swing the deal.

Anquan Boldin, WR Baltimore Ravens

Another guy whose wagon is attached to the wrong QB and doesn’t have too many other WR weapons around him to help him out. The worst thing that ever happened for him and Larry Fitzgerald was them getting separated. They were both fantasy monsters during the Warner years in Arizona but since then they’ve both struggled due to poor QB play. If you saw the Ravens on Monday night against the Jaguars you know why if you have the opportunity to get something good in return for Boldin go ahead and do it. Joe Flacco is having a hell of a time trying to get him the ball and his numbers will suffer because of that.

BUY LOW CANDIDATES

Chris Johnson, RB Tennessee Titans

He’s the 31^st ranked RB in ESPN’s rankings right now but his talents are going to show through eventually…right? He’s a good receiver out of the backfield and contributes 20 to 30 yards in the passing game week in and week out. This week has a matchup against the Colts horrific run defense. He should run wild against this week and get himself kicked into high gear and show that he was worthy of being picked first or second overall in most leagues. He did just run for 2,000 yards 2 years ago the talent and speed are there he just needs to put it all together. If you can get him for a backup RB2 or maybe a low WR2 or WR3 do it, now. He’s too good to suck for a full year.

Phillip Rivers, QB San Diego Chargers

17^th ranked QB currently in ESPN’s rankings. Go get him as fast as you can as cheap as you can. His scoring this year looks like this: 17, 18, 6, 17, 17, 7. He’s a better player than that and has been a top 5 fantasy option for the past 3 years and he’s going to get back there. He’s had two real duds against the Jets (understandable) and Chiefs (not understandable) but otherwise he’s been solid. I expect him to get back towards the top 10 in fantasy QB rankings. All world TE Antonio Gates is also coming back from being injured during weeks 2-6, which will help out immensely.

Roddy White, WR Atlanta Falcons

Roddy’s the 13^th ranked WR right now but that will go up. He’s a top 5 talent who has been hindered by Matt Ryan’s inability to get him the ball consistently. Julio Jones was supposed to help open up White but instead he’s been taking targets and receptions from White. Once the Falcons figure out how to use both of them effectively you’ll have two fantasy monsters on one team. He’s having a down year and has probably frustrated his owner to no end so if you can get him on the cheap make your move. Later in the year you’ll be pleased with your decision to buy low on him.

Jabar Gaffney, WR Washington Redskins

The Redskins have no other options and Gaffney is a reliable receiver. If you can find him on the waiver wire or get him for cheap go grab him. No. 1 WR Santana Moss is out for 5-7 weeks with a broken hand and TE Chris Cooley is done for the year. The only options left for the Redskins are TE Fred Davis and Gaffney. He’s going to get looks and he has some pretty reliable hands. Fantasy football is all about getting touches not whether or not the team is good. He’s going to have a bad QB throwing to him whether it’s Rex Grossman or John Beck but again volume equals points in fantasy football.

Plaxico Burress, WR New York Jets

After meandering thru the first 6 weeks of the season the Jets and Burress finally hooked up and realized how to properly use him leading to a huge week 7. Burress reeled in 3 touchdown passes and chalked up 20 points for his owners though he was probably sitting on most people’s bench. No matter what you think of Burress he’s a beast in the Red Zone and always has been. He’s a big lanky receiver with great hands and now that it appears the Jets have figured out that all you have to do is throw it up to him in the red area and he’ll come down with it. Why they didn’t just plug in tape of Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress from 06, 07, and 08 I don’t know but someone finally unearthed it and properly plugged Burress into the game plan. He’s going to score a lot of scores down the stretch, which equals lots of fantasy points. Go get him on the cheap.

Enjoy the fantasy tips,

Views from the Couch staff

The Quick Slant Week 6: Brady, Hernandez move the Pats to 5-1

After a week’s hiatus in order to provide an in depth preview of the Boston Bruins ‘The Quick Slant’ is back and better than ever. A brief synopsis of the game before I get into what I saw in particular and a few random thoughts on the game and its outcome. As most of you know the Patriots beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-16 yesterday with Tom Brady hitting Aaron Hernandez for an 8 yard score with :22 left in the 4^th quarter. Brady went 27/41 (identical to Romo) for 289 yards, 2 TDs, and 2 picks. Now that you’ve seen a final score and how Tom Terrific did on the day let’s get to some of the news and notes from the matchup.

-Thank God Buddy Ryan only had two defensive minded sons. Rex Ryan and the Jets (before last week) were 3-2 against the Patriots since he’s been at the helm and unceremoniously knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs last year. Rob Ryan, the current defensive coordinator of the Cowboys, was at the head of the Browns defense that before Sunday was the last d to hold the Patriots under 30 points in the regular season. Ryan guided defenses tend to give Brady and the Patriots some trouble for extended period of times. The common theme between the brothers Ryan ability to slowing down the Patriots is the ability to get pressure on Brady with 4 and a good amount of the time only 3 rushers. DeMarcus Ware is an absolute beast and he showed it again yesterday wreaking havoc on Matt Light and the Pats o-line all day long. He and the Boys d-line were able to take down Brady 3 times and the secondary picked up 2 interceptions. Until the final drive the Cowboys had done a great job of holding the Patriots in check but that’s just it: it’s almost impossible to hold them down for a full 60 minutes and Brady showed why when he marched down the field 80 yards with precision and accuracy to lead the Patriots to victory.

-Yesterday’s matchup between New England and Dallas provided a much clearer view of why Tom Brady’s one of the greatest of all-time and Tony Romo will never excel into the upper echelon. Brady scores TDs and is allowed to make plays when the game is on the line where Romo scores FGs and is forced to call a handoff dive off right tackle on 3^rd down in the Red Zone. Romo has been at this for almost 6 years now and he’s still not allowed to throw the ball late in the game with the game tied. The Cowboys would rather hand off and take 3 points instead of risking Romo throwing an INT. The Cowboys went 1-3 (TDs-atts) in the Red Zone yesterday with the Patriots going 2-4. Romo leads the Cowboys on long drives that yield 3 instead of the 7 points Brady and Patriots consistently put on the board.

-Andre Carter looked great yesterday putting 2 sacks on the board and disrupting multiple others. Carter is a strong presence in the locker room and the kind of guy you root for. He’s been in the league for 11 years and if he can continue the level of play that he brought to the table last week for the rest of the year the Patriots found them a gem on the scrap heap.

-If he’s healthy, and I know it’s a big IF, Albert Haynesworth can bring the noise. On one of Carter’s sacks yesterday Haynesworth occupied 3 (3!) blockers to allow Carter a free lane to Romo. His presence doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet but he is a beast and occupies multiple blockers on every play allowing the other linemen and linebackers free shots at the ball carrier. He can also provide some pressure up the middle, which for all his other talents and soft hands, Vince Wilfork isn’t the best at. He’s more of a run stuffer and block occupier than he is pocket collapser. Haynesworth is a pocket collapser.

-The Patriots turned the ball over 4 times yesterday including putting it on the ground for the first 2 times all year. They were lucky to win considering they lost the turnover battle 4-2. Yet, championship caliber teams win these games and the Patriots did just that.

-The Cowboys are way too skilled to be sitting at 2-3. They should pretty easily be at 5-0 with the talent they field at every position. If you look at the Pats and Cowboys man for man the only areas where you would give the Patriots a decided edge is Quarterback. Running Back is a close push and I’ll give the o-line to the Patriots slightly though the Cowboys have some talent but WRs? Cowboys. D-Line? Cowboys. DBs? Cowboys? LBs? Cowboys? The Patriots have 2 very good TEs whereas the Boys only have Witten but he just happens to be one of the 3 best in football. Not too shabby. Jerry Jones needs to figure out who is the right head coach for this team because Jason Garrett is nothing more than a glorified offensive coordinator. As we’ve all seen from when Belichick tried it a few years ago head coaches shouldn’t be the offensive coordinators at the same time. Find a strong personality to come in and lead this talented bunch to their place among the NFL’s elite.

-Finally, Chad Ochocinco might be close to putting ex-New England Patriot on his resume. He only made it on the field for 7 plays yesterday and none after the Patriots ran isolation for him on the left side and he ran the wrong route. Ochocinco ran an in instead of an out when the Patriots lined him up alone on the left with 4 WRs bunched on the right. After the game Brady said that he still believes Ochocinco can contribute but on the field you can tell that he’s lost all confidence in throwing him the ball and Ochocinco looks stiff and lot. He’s not playing fluid and loose like he did in Cincinnati. If he has any chance of making it in New England he has to dedicate himself to this offense play a little more carefree and think less. He’s a talented player and the Pats could use him down the stretch but we all know if he doesn’t produce soon Belichick won’t be afraid to cut ties and move on.

That’s all for this week folks we’ll see you again in two weeks since YOUR New England Patriots are on a bye this week. Until we cross paths again…

Geoff Jablonski