Reviewing the Victor Cruz Non-Fumble

Victor Cruz was the Giants' unlikely hero in last week's win over the Eagles, but he was nearly the NFL's goat yesterday.  When Beanie Wells waltzed into the end zone with 5:20 left to give the Cardinals a 10-point lead, I said "game over" to my roommate Colin.  But a mere two minutes later, Eli Manning had the ball, down three points, with the Giants rolling towards an improbable comeback win.  Then, after a 19-yard catch to put the Giants in field goal range, Cruz nearly threw it all away:

We Giants fans had seen this before.  Twice in the past two years, both against the Eagles, a potential game-winning drive ended when Eli Manning fumbled the ball away while falling down untouched.  I couldn't believe it was happening again.  So you can imagine my surprise when the refs ruled that Cruz was down, even though he wasn't touched.

Week 4 NFL Picks

Apologies for the delay in this post, I did not plan on having a tree knock out my internet this week.  Unfortunately, I have no excuse for my picks this year, which so far have been thoroughly mediocre.  Let's see if I can turn things around this week.

Last week: 9-7, 7-9 Against the Spread (ATS)

Season: 31-17, 20-23-4 ATS

Lions at Cowboys - Dallas, per usual, looks pretty at the skill positions and ugly everywhere else.  With Detroit's defense on the way, now is not the time to have communication issues on the o-line.

Pick - Lions

ATS - Lions (+2.5)

KID - Week 4 Power Rankings: Time to Panic?

Each year, eleven of my best friends and I participate in a keeper fantasy football league, dubbed "Keeper? I Don't Even Like Her!" (KID, for short).  This post, ranking the teams in our league after their Week 3 performances, is for them.

Three weeks seems like a short time, but us in the fantasy football world know that it's not too early to panic about our teams.  Considering that you'll need to finish the season at 7-6 to make the playoffs, or 10-3 if you want that elusive first round bye, you may not have much leeway left for the final 10 games of the fantasy regular season.

Take me, for instance.  I think I have a pretty decent team that will develop over the next few weeks, but due to lackluster performances and some bad luck, I'm 0-3.  A loss this week, and my fantasy season will be over before it started.

This week, I'll note where your team stands and if it's time to panic or not.

1. Room For Regret (Last week's rank: 2) 3-0, 408 points
Last week: Tom Brady and LeSean McCoy combined for nearly 60 points to lead Kevin to victory.  Why do I get the feeling I'll be typing that sentence again?
Time to panic? As the only undefeated team in the league, Kevin is in the best shape to grab the 1 seed.  If Brady replicates his 2007 season, as he looks to be doing, Kevin will be tough to beat.

2. Rice and Breesy (3) 2-1, 388 points

Last week: Wes Welker's 43 points gave Sumit the win and vaulted the Patriots receiver above every other fantasy RB or WR.  Randy Moss is no longer there to draw coverages, yet Welker is doing better than ever. 
Time to panic? Sumit is in very good shape.  Whereas Will's team is built on balance, Sumit has a core of Welker, Drew Brees, Greg Jennings and Ray Rice that can explode in any given week. 

3. A Few Good Chicks (1) 2-1, 380 points

Last week: Philip Rivers came up small in a favorable matchup against the Chiefs, and Will couldn't keep up with Sumit.
Time to panic? Will is in a fine position to make the playoffs, but the Kenny Britt injury weakens him significantly.  If he wants a bye, he'll need a better WR2 than Johnny Knox.

Middle School Gambling: My Week 3 Picks

I haven't felt this hopeless about a Giants game since Eli Manning's rookie season.

Back when I was in middle school, I went to a church-sponsored street fair in Queens, which is about as classy as it sounds.  Picture Dennis and Dee's trip to the Jersey Shore on last night's episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, minus the grave-digging.

For some reason my parents gave me a fifty-dollar bill, which I suppose was meant to be spent on various under-maintained carnival rides.  But when I entered the fair, one of the first things to catch my eye was a giant roulette wheel game, run by my old little league coach (seriously).  After about thirty minutes and a couple dozen bets later, I'd lost all my cash.  That was my first lesson on the stupidity of gambling.  Lesson number 267 came last week, when I correctly picked 13 out of 16 games, but still finished even against the spread.  There's a reason the house always wins.  Either way, it's too late to stop now.

Last week: 13-3, 7-7-2 Against the Spread (ATS)

Season: 22-10, 13-14-4 ATS

49ers at Bengals - Two years ago, the 49ers were off to a promising 2-0 start until they were derailed by Brett Favre.  For San Francisco's sake, I hope last week's collapse to Dallas doesn't do the same.

Pick - 49ers

ATS - 49ers (+2.5)

KID - Week 3 Power Rankings

Each year, eleven of my best friends and I participate in a keeper fantasy football league, dubbed the "Keeper? I Don't Even Like Her!" league (KID, for short).  This post, rankings the teams in our league after their week 2 performances, is for them.

The record pace of the passing game this season has definitely had its effect on the fantasy world.  Quarterbacks have always been the biggest fantasy point producers, but now they're bringing receivers up with them.  Last year, the top 10 non-QBs in fantasy points were all running backs.  So far this season, four of those 10 are receivers.  In fact, no running back in our league has more points than Kenny Britt, Miles Austin or Steve Smith. 

However, I don't expect that to be the case at the end of the year, as secondaries gel and erase the busted coverages that are contributing to so many yards through the air.  Receiving corps that look great now won't be as reliable in December.

This week, I'll quickly note the biggest early weakness that I see in each team.  You might want to keep this in mind as trading season gets into full swing.

1. A Few Good Chicks (Last week's rank: 3) 2-0, 286 points
Will was the leading scorer last week, with 137 well-balanced points.  Eight of his nine starters, Johnny Knox being the exception, put up double-digits.
Biggest weakness: Nothing that I can see.  Will's team has strength and depth at every position.  Anything I'd put here is just nitpicking.

2. Room For Regret (2) 2-0, 289 points

Kevin saw Dez Bryant (injured) and Antonio Gates (shut down by Bill Belichick) contribute zero points last week, and yet he still put up an impressive 130-spot thanks to Tom Brady and the Jets defense.
Biggest weakness: Kevin's depth at running back concerns me.  He's one injury away from starting Marion Barber or C.J. Spiller.

3. Rice and Breesy (1) 1-1, 255 points

Sumit suffered a surprising loss to Doctor Asshole this past week, despite A.J. Green's 18 points against the Broncos.
Biggest weakness: Unless Mark Ingram emerges as more of a contributor, the Rice and Breesy flex spot will be occupied by secondary scatbacks like Danny Woodhead and Reggie Bush.

Bombs Away: A Pass-Happy League and Other Thoughts on Week 2 in The NFL

It's no secret that the NFL has become a passing league.  Rules favor the offense and defenders have become so strong and fast that teams have to spread the field to move the ball.  But what we're seeing from quarterbacks in the first two weeks of the 2011 season is nothing short of ridiculous.  I touched on this last week, but compared to the first two weeks of last season, pass production has skyrocketed.

NFL Passing Stats Through Week 2
	Comp (Avg)	Att (Avg)	Yards (Avg)	Yds/Att	TD (Total)	INT (Total)
2010	20	30	201	6.7	86	69
2011	21	35	246	7.0	108	57

So what's changed between this year and last year to account for such a difference?  Three things come to mind.

Week 2 Picks

Not the best start for my picks this year.  I'd like to point out that I predicted the Bills to upset the Chiefs, and ignore the fact that four of my playoff picks are starting 0-1.  Last week didn't give us the best football we've seen, as more than one-third of the games were blowouts.  However, this week should be interesting, as it's the first since the 1970 merger to not have a divisional game on its schedule.

Season Record - 9-7

Record Against The Spread (ATS) - 6-7-3

Bears at Saints - You can't say enough about Chicago's domination of the Falcons last week.  They surprised me and most others who picked them to fall from the playoffs this year.  However, I think the Saints aggressive defense will overwhelm their offensive line, and 10 days is a long time to give Sean Payton to gameplan for an opponent.

Pick - Saints

ATS - Saints (-6.5 points)

Chiefs at Lions - Apparently the preseason might mean something after all.  The Lions were dominant and the Chiefs were doormats in August, and that didn't change in Week One.

Pick - Lions

ATS - Lions (-7.5)

KID - Week 2 Power Rankings

Each year, eleven of my best friends and I participate in a keeper fantasy football league, dubbed the "Keeper? I Don't Even Like Her!" league (KID, for short).  This post, rankings the teams in our league after their week 1 performance, is for them.

We held our draft nine days before the lockout ended, and the values of some players have changed drastically in the six weeks since.  In addition to a quick synopsis of where your team stands, I've also highlighted the players that have gone up and down in value the most since July 26th.

1. Rice and Breesy 1-0, 154 points: In case you couldn't tell from the team name, Ray Rice and Drew Brees will keep Sumit in it all season.

Up: Free agent Reggie Bush went from a crowded Saints backfield to the feature role in Miami.   

Down: At the time of the draft, rumors were that DeAngelo Williams was headed to the Broncos.  Instead, he will continue to compete with the equally talented Jonathan Stewart in Carolina.

Always Remember: Reflections on 9/11 and Week 1 of The NFL Season

Ten years ago, I, along with many others, had the worst day of my life.  I don’t often talk about it, but I will now.

I woke up on the morning of Tuesday, September 11^th, 2001 as a freshman at Boston College.  And, in what would become a theme of over the next four years, I’d overslept.  I skipped my shower, frantically threw on my jeans, and grabbed my book bag, only briefly acknowledging the DJ on my alarm clock radio when he reported that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers.

I walked into class 20 minutes late, receiving a disapproving glance from my Jesuit professor and a mix of amusement and sympathy from my 11 classmates.  As I sat, wondering just how much I had damaged my GPA in my second week of college, my mind returned to what the radio said.  You can call it naivety or optimism, but I assumed that the story was an unfortunate accident involving a biplane and an inexperienced pilot.  It would become just another topic to chat with my mother in Queens about, and so I drifted back to the more pressing topic of dues ex machina and other themes in The Iliad.

My Preseason Predictions

Back before the season started, I broke down each division and gave my predictions for the playoffs and Super Bowl.  Here you can read them and ask yourself things like "How did he pick Denver to win the wild card?"

AFC East
AFC North
AFC South
AFC West
NFC East
NFC North
NFC South
NFC West
Playoffs and Super Bowl Pick