Saturday, September 6, 2008

Adam Man's Week 1 Preview: Part 2

Things got a little hectic (translation: they expected me to do actual WORK at work) and I wasn't able to get this up earlier, so here's my quick hits on the remaining 8 games of Week 1. For the record, I was totally right to tell you to start Plaxico Burres this week (and please ignore that I told you to start Chris Cooley too).

Buccaneers @ Saints (-4)

One of my top picks for game of the week (Peyton Manning: "And if you don't have NFL Sunday Ticket, you'll probably miss it!"). Mostly because I think everybody overrates New Orleans and underrates Tampa. That was me for a long time too on the Tampa front, but no more. Tampa had the best pass defense last year, and I think they're deep enough at RB to overcome their questionable receiving corps (and the Saints pass defense will help make Jeff Garcia look gooood). Tampa Bay wins, 23-10.
Fantasy Love: Earnest Graham, Marques Colston, Joey Galloway
Fantasy Hate: Reggie Bush (43 carries, 109 yds, 0 total TDs career vs. TB), Ike Hilliard

Chiefs @ Patriots (-13.5)
Another one of my votes for best game this week, because my idea of "the best game" is my team winning by copius amounts of points. This feels like a good time to point out I will only be referring to Lawrence Maroney as "Lo-Mo" from now on. Big game for the Kool-Aid Man. In a laugher, Pats win 37-10.
Fantasy Love: Tom Brady, Lo-Mo, Randy Moss, Dwayne Bowe
Fantasy Hate: Larry Johnson, Brodie Croyle, anyone wearing red

Panthers @ Chargers (-6.5)
Friends of mine think this one will be intersting. I'm not convinced. I think the Panthers are an 8-10 win team this year, and that's not good enough to beat the Bolts. Jake Delhomme will take some time to get back to full-speed, and the Chargers win, 24-14.
Fantasy Love: LDT, Antonio Gates, DeAngelo Williams
Fantasy Hate: Jake Delhomme, Vincent Jackson

Cowboys @ Browns (+5.5)
I watched this season of Hard Knocks, and it only confirmed that the Cowboys will be good this year... but they'll also be thin at WR and sometimes shaky in the defensive backfield. Lots of people are worried about the Browns preseason injuries, but I'm not. Romeo Crennel only puts healthy guys on the field, and they'll all be there. In front of the Dawg Pound, Browns win, 34-31.
Fantasy Love: Derek Anderson, Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow, Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, MBIII, Felix Jones
Fantasy Hate: Both defenses, yeesh

Okay, the rest of these games don't interest me much, and I'm late for the bar, so I'm going to power through the rest of Sunday night and give you Monday Night previews later.

Cardinals @ 49ers (+0.5)
Everyone on the Cardinals bandwagon! Again! Yeah right... I'm not fooled again. 49ers take it, 17-14.
Fantasy Love: Frank Gore, Bryant Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald
Fantasy Hate: Kurt Warner, Edgerrin James, Isaac Bruce

Bears @ Colts (-8)
Even the great Neck Beard can't get them out of this one. Colts take it easy and win 31-10.
Fantasy Love: Joseph Addai, Reggie Wayne, Devin Hester
Fantasy Hate: Any other Bear, Peyton Manning (until I see that knee in action)



Peace, I'm out!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Chick's League draft results

Chicks League Draft: A (Shoddy) Running Diary:

9:55pm: After braving some Java-related issues and a couple Jack and Coke's, I enter the draft room. There ended up being 12 teams in the league.. not too shabby, ladies. Since I have drafted in the worst possible spot in every draft this year, why not get assigned the 10th pick? I begin to ponder if I should take FrankGoreMarshawnLynchClintonPortis, or live dangerously and go for Tony Romo or Randy Moss. Hmmmm.

10:00: First pick = LDT.. second pick = Brian Westbrook. FINALLY a league where AP goes where he should (#3 overall). Oh right.. we all listen to the same podcast, so we all have the same rankings.. uh ohhhhh.

10:02: Alex Roman is picking now, right before me. I have a sneaking suspicion she is auto-drafting.. best available is Clinton Portis, and I get ready to become a certified Romo-sexual for the third year in a row..

10:02:30: NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Alex Roman had been quiet in the chat so that she could fly under the radar and steal Tony Romo from me. Sob. Also, I know it is ridiculous to take Tony Romo at number 10 overall, but I wanted to. I am almost sick of drafting at this point, so I just wanted to do crazy things instead of logical things. Also, crazy > logic is allowed in the Chick's League.

10:03: I take Randy Moss. Blah.

10:05: The snake draft.. loves it.. Gore, Portis, P. Manning, and T.O. go.. Back to me.. oh heyyy, Ryan Grant.

10:06: I am in a funk about my team. I hate not having a great RB, but it's impossible to grab with the 10th pick. Oh well.

10:20: The snake draft.. hates it. Very mediocre RB and WR talent left (sorry, Larry Johnson and Willis McGahee). Big Ben it is!

10:22: Darren McFadden (whom I will be referring to as Run DMC for the remainder of the season, fyi) on the turnaround! I have a ridiculous, unhealthy amount of love for this guy.

10:28: Chatting with the other girls in the league as I wait for my next pick.. oddly, most of us started playing fantasy sports when a boyfriend's league needed an extra person.. now we're all full-on dorks. And none of us are still dating the guys who got us into fantasy football. Conclusion: fantasy football kills relationships!! League consensus about tonight's NFL game was that a.) Eli Manning is still Eli Manning, b.) We are worried about Jason Campbell and c.) Can interesting games please start?? Come on, Sunday.

10:32: Rule number one of drafting: Do not take any RB/WR from Denver. Mike Shanahan hates your fantasy team. Whoops.... hi there, Selvin Young.

10:34: I am the millionth person to use this joke, but whatever: Ricky Williams... smoke em if you got em.

10:35: Back to the chat, which is now clearly a discussion among twelve chicks. A short journey into our world: Is Tony Romo attractive, or do we just think so because he's famous/rich? (He's legitimately cute, in a boyish way, but he shouldn't date Jessica Simpson anymore) Is Tom Brady a jerk for dating Giselle right after dumping baby mama Bridget Moynahan? (Whatever, Tom Brady can do whatever he wants) Is it okay that we sometimes draft a guy because he's attractive? (Yes, since no one unattractive is good at anything anyways).

10:44: On the heels of the 'drafting attractive guys' discussion, I reluctantly take Chris Cooley, with the disclaimer that this pick is NOT based on his looks. Or, judging from the game earlier tonight, anything else.

10:46: KENNY WATSON! Oh, Kenny.. let's run away together and I'll whisper sweet nothings about how much I believe you will be end up being the best running back in Cincinnati this year. Eff you, Chris Perry bandwagon.

10:47: It's all downhill after you take Kenny Watson in the 8th round and the chat has returned to the subject of 'How hot is Tony Romo,' so here is the rest of my team, round by round:

9th round: Anthony Gonzalez
10th round: Reggie Brown
11th round: Seattle Defense
12th round: Aaron Rodgers
13th round: Bobby Engram (yeah, I know he's out for 6-8 weeks.. it's the 13th round, chill)
14th round: Justin Gage
15th round: Kevin Boss (promptly dropped for a kicker.. I forget who.)


This week I am playing Tomilee, who has a pretty solid team, featuring P. Manning, Portis, Bush, Hines Ward, and Greg Jennings.

I hope I don't lose to a girl.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

ESPN All Chick Fantasy Football League

As is likely clear from the lack of recent posts from me, I have been quite busy, mainly due to my job which involves consulting on political campaigns. I still can't believe I get paid to tell candidates what to do, but it does get quite busy in these months. Sorry, blog. However, I will still always find time for fantasy football. One of my five teams (sorry, job) this year is a fun little thing that I will try to keep y'all updated on as the season progresses: The ESPN Fantasy Focus All Chick League.

For anyone who doesn't know (and probably the only five people that read this have heard me talk about this multiple times, but whatever), there is a fabulous ESPN podcast hosted by Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz, called Fantasy Focus: Football (there's also a baseball version which is quite good as well). Covering daily fantasy football news, opinions and analysis, combined with lots of talk about Beverly Hills 90210, it is an all-around enjoyable podcast. Even better, they read my emails about fantasy football on the air. Sweet!

Every season, they run a "Man's League" where listeners can apply to play in a fantasy league against their producer, whom they despise. This year, entry to the Man's league was dependent on a $25 donation to The Jimmy V. Foundation, an explanation as to why you were qualified for the Man's League, and a Beverly Hills 90210 themed team name. Now, I was DYING to play in this league, but have never seen a single episode of 90210.* I decided that I would apply anyways, so I made my donation to Jimmy V. (I hate cancer) and explained that I would love to play, but knew nothing about 90210, except that Tori Spelling probably sucked.

Now, you cannot just skirt the authority of a podcast and apply for things all willy-nilly, so I did not get into the Man's league.. however, I was selected for the newly created "All Chicks League," which will feature Stephania Bell and Alex Roman representing ESPN and nine other chicks. I am honored to have had my application selected from amidst the literally tens of others chicks who both play fantasy football AND listen to a podcast about it, so hooray! Thanks, ESPN!

The draft for the league is tonight at 10pm.. everyone cross your fingers I can get Tatum Bell and his fast hands.



*I suppose this makes me more of a man than anyone who could create a 90210 themed nickname, but alas.

OMG FOOTBALL


I know it's been quiet around here... but the start to the NFL season is upon us and I had to chime in. This really is my favorite time of the year, everyone. Sundays have a purpose again, and that's comforting. While we've had an eventful preseason (Rudi getting cut, Richard Collier getting shot, Pacman's reinstatement, Flacco the starter, Umenyiora's injury, Brady's foot, Peyton's knee, something something Brett Favre), but it's time to get down to business. Fear not, Adam Man is here with a game by game breakdown with predictions and fantasy advice, starting here with Part 1 of a 2-part series. AWAY WE GO!

Redskins @ Giants (-4)
The New York Giants (who I'm still not convince are any good) open the season against the Washington "we-could-be-really-good-if-we-could-just-figure-out-this-quarterback-situation" Redskins. That seems like a popular category in today's NFL (Minnesota, Baltimore, Buffalo, Oakland, etc...). No Umenyiora means Jason Campbell could have some more time to throw... but the Giants will be too motivated by the sweet voices of Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield (seriously NFL... these are your big guns?) to let the come crowd down, pulling off a close win. Giants, 24-20.
Fantasy Love: Clinton Portis, Plaxico Burress, Chris Cooley
Fantasy Hate: Eli Manning, Jason Campbell, Mantana Soss Santana Moss

Lions @ Falcons (+3.5)
The season starts off with a bang here... I mean wow. It should be easy to call though. Rookie coach, rookie QB, game 1 disaster. Add to this the fact that Atlanta HATES defending the run, and apparently the Lions will be committed to it, and Detroit takes this one easily, 27-10.
Fantasy Love: Kevin Smith, Jon Kitna, Calvin Johnson, Michael Turner
Fantasy Hate: Matt Ryan, both TE's

Seattle @ Buffalo (EVEN)
The changing of the guard finally happened in the Seattle backfield... unfortunately it changed to "Orange" Julius Jones. Pair that with all of the WR injuries, and the Hawks offense cupboard looks a little bare to start the season. Their defense will keep them in this one, but the Bills will control the pace of the game with their running attack and take the win. Bills, 17-14.
Fantasy Love: Marshawn Lynch, Lee Evans, Matt Hasselbeck
Fantasy Hate: Julius Jones/Maurice Morris, Trent Edwards, Courtney Taylor

Jets @ Dolphins (+5)
In an ironic matchup, team captains Brett Favre and Chad Pennington face off in Week 1 in a game sure to be riveting to Chad Pennington's grandma. Both teams sucked against the run last year and neither made any moves that I'm convinced will improve that, so I see a grinding ground game while the QB's get used to their new offenses, with the Jets winning, 20-13.
Fantasy Love: Thomas Jones, Ricky Williams, Tedd Ginn Jr.
Fantasy Hate: Chad Pennington, Derek Hagan, Jerricho Cotchery

Rams @ Eagles (-7)
Now here's a matchup that's actually interesting. Two teams that performed well below their talent level last year (11 wins combined), and so are very hard to judge coming into this one. I've seen some people predicting Philly wins the NFC East, but I have a hard time believing that with nobody for McNabb to throw to. It's also worth noting that Stephen Jackson is someone I avoided like the plague in all fantasy drafts this year. I see Philly winning at home in a high scoring game. 34-28 Eagles.
Fantasy Love: Brian Westbrook, Tory Holt, Donovan McNabb, Marc Bulger, DeSean Jackson (if return yards count)
Fantasy Hate: Stephen Jackson, Drew Bennett, Hank Baskett, Randy McMichael

Texans @ Steelers (-8)
I really feel Houston could surprise people this year. A healthy Schaub in his second year, complementary receivers in Johnson/Walter, and an emerging young defense. Of course the running game is still an issue. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, seems stacked at the skill positions but are weakening on their offensive line. Their defense will be too much in this game, however, and the balanced Steeler attack will pace them to a win. 24-17 Steelers.
Fantasy Love: Andre Johnson, Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Santonio Holmes
Fantasy Hate: Matt Schaub, Ahman Green, Rashard Mendenhall

Bengals @ Ravens (+2.5)
Here's two teams that can never quite get it figured out. The good news for Baltimore is that Kyle Boller is on IR, and they can start to see what they have in 1st round pick Joe Flacco right away. They'll probably see plenty of rookie RB Ray Rice as well, with Willis McGahee still not 100% from his knee surgery. While the Bengals have plenty of head problems and defensive question marks, most of their key contributers are healthy and committing to a Perry/Watson backfield will prove the right move (though not against this Defense). Bengals take it, 24-13.
Fantasy Love: Carson Palmer, Chad Ocho Cinco (gigglesnort), TJ Houshmandzadeh (suddenly with the second funniest last name), Derrick Mason
Fantasy Hate: Joe Flacco, Todd Heap, Chris Perry

Jaguars @ Flaming Thumbtacks Titans (+3.5)
The Jags take their fun "trendy super bowl pick" label into Tennessee in a divisional matchup that they've split 3 of the past 4 seasons. It's strength vs. strength with Jax's 2-pronged rushing attack against the solid Titans run-D. However, in his 2 career games in Nashville, MJD has averaged 100 yards and a TD. Still, I'm feeling a vibe from this Titans defense, and I think Alge Crumpler will make VY look better than he ever has... I'm calling the upset, 17-14 Titans.
Fantasy Love: Maurice Jones-Drew, Alge Crumpler, Vince Young
Fantasy Hate: Jax Receivers, LenDale White, Justin McCarreins


Okay! Well it's been exhausting, but there's my analysis of the first 8 games. Back soon with the two 1:00 games I'll actually be paying attention to and all the late ones. Enjoy!