by: erik 2/3/09 08:14 amWhew. What a game. It all came down to the closing seconds for the second year in a row and also for the second year in a row we've been treated to a fantastic football game. Congrats to both teams for phenomenal seasons. The Steelers win their sixth world championship and have pretty much set the bar for other franchises around the league. The Cards should hold their heads high and get ready for next year.

Steelers 27 vs. Cardinals 23: What can you say about a game that was up and down the field, had some big plays on all sides of the ball, and some giant performances. It was fantastic. The Cards took the lead with 2:37 left and then the Steelers drove and punched in the winner with 35 seconds left. The whole game was entertaining. Fantasy Players of the Game: Ben Roethlisberger (256yds 1td), Santonio Holmes (131yds 1td), Kurt Warner (377yds 3td), Larry Fitzgerald (127yds 2td).

PAT's

In my opinion, the best Super Bowls are (in no particular order) Pats/Panthers from a few years ago, Giants/Pats, Rams/Titans, and this one. Just good football with a little of everything.

The league's goal of achieving parody doesn't necessarily show up every week during the season, but we've had about 10 good to great Super Bowls in a row now and I applaud them for it. There were a ton of these games in the 80's and 90's that were bordering on ridiculous and if we never see a 55-10 game on the big stage again, I'll be happy.... read the complete article.

by: erik 1/20/09 04:11 pmWell, well, well. And then there were two. Let’s roll.

Philadelphia 25 at Arizona 32: This was a good offensive showing just like we thought it would be. Arizona handled the Philly D very well. The Cards D also did a good job in keeping the Eagles out of reach. The Eagles played well in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Nonetheless, they had a very impressive season and made a good showing in the desert. Fantasy Players of the Game: Donovan McNabb (375yds 3td), Brent Celek (83yds 2td), Kurt Warner (279yds 4td, 1 two point conversion pass), Larry Fitzgerald (152yds 3td)
Baltimore 14 at Pittsburgh 23: Like we all thought, Baltimore had plenty of D, but the O just isn’t quite there yet. The Steelers can do a little bit of everything and that’s why they are headed to the Super Bowl again. Fantasy Players of the Game: Willis McGahee (60yds, 2 td), Ben Roethlisberger (255yds, 1td)

PAT’s

There’s always a story line for these games. We’re going to hear about the Whisenhunt/Grimm/Steelers connection. We’re going to hear about how Fitzgerald (now the darling of the football world) was a Vikings ball boy. We’re going to hear about how Tomlin started under Dungy. We’re also going to find out who dated what star and what the players usually have for lunch. Some of it will be interesting to football fans. Most of it will not be. Settle in.

Larry Fitzgerald is pretty good.

If Kurt Warner... read the complete article.

by: erik 1/12/09 05:47 pmWell, well, well. And then there were four. At least one of them is a pretty big surprise to many. All the number one seeds are gone and it’s all wide open from here on out. Let’s roll.

Baltimore 13 at Tennessee 10: The D’s for both teams certainly didn’t disappoint. This was everything we thought it would be and then some. Fantasy Players of the Game: Chris Johnson (72yds 1td), Derrick Mason (78yds 1td)
Arizona 33 at Carolina 13: Is this right? The Cards played outstanding D and everyone in America is learning what fantasy players have known for a couple years. Larry Fitzgerald is the best receiver in football. As coach Fox said, the Panthers picked a bad day to have a bad game. Nobody had a worse game than Delhomme. 5 picks is not good by any stretch of the imagination. Fantasy Players of the Game: Kurt Warner (220yds 2td), Larry Fitzgerald (166yds 1td)
Philadelphia 23 at NY Giants 11: This was about what we expected as well. The D’s pretty much dominated this one as well. Neither O could really get anything going. Fantasy Player of the Game: Donovan McNabb (217yds 1 pass td, 1 run td)
San Diego 24 at Pittsburgh 35: The Chargers tried and tried, but just were not equipped to deal with the Steelers. They couldn’t run at all and didn’t really start passing until the game was over, despite Rivers numbers. Fantasy Players of the Game: Phillip Rivers (308yds 3td), Willie Parker (146yds 2td)

PAT’s

I... read the complete article.

by: erik 1/6/09 08:46 amWildcard weekend was fun to watch. You had two very good games and two that were not horrible. Let’s get to it.

Atlanta 24 at Arizona 30: This was plenty fun to watch too. The Cards finally found enough D to let the offense do what they do. The Falcons looked like a young team in their first playoff game. I don’t mean that as a rip, it’s just that they are young. Fantasy Players of the Game: Kurt Warner (271 yards 2td), Larry Fitzgerald (101yards 1td), Matt Ryan (199 yards 2td)
Indianapolis 17 at San Diego 23 OT: The Colts get beat out in the first round yet again by the Chargers. Are the Chargers the new Patriots when it comes to the Colts? Remember when the Colts would always get beat by the Pats? Anyway, this was a lot of fun to watch. They were the last team to make the playoffs (and arguably the worst team in the playoffs) and yet they move on. Fantasy Players of the Game: Peyton Manning (310 yards 1td), Darren Sproles (105 yards 2td)
Baltimore 27 at Miami 9: Baltimore just had too much defense for the Fish. The Ravens dominated and Miami just looked lost at times. You have to give Miami all the credit in the world to come from last year to where they ended up. Fantasy Players of the Game: LeRon McClain (75yds 1td)
Philadelphia 26 at Minnesota 14: What you had here is two very good (bordering on exceptional) defenses and one very good offense. Minnesota just doesn’t have enough of a passing game to win playoff games in... read the complete article.

by: erik 12/29/08 05:15 pmIt’s all over for most of the NFL, but for the privileged few, the playoffs begin this week. Let’s roll.

St. Louis 27 at Atlanta 31: Somebody forgot to tell the Rams that they were done. They kept up right to the end, but Atlanta proved why it is headed for the playoffs with the win. Fantasy Players of the Week: Steven Jackson (161yds 2td), Michael Turner (208yds 1td), Jerious Norwood (56yds 2td)
New England 13 at Buffalo 0: The wind and the blown over goal posts were the stories in this one. Oh yeah, it kind of sucks that the 11-5 Pats are not in the playoffs, but what can you do. Fantasy Player of the Week: Lamont Jordon (64yds 1td)
Kansas City 6 at Cincinnati 16: Two teams that have been out of the hunt since week 2 showed why. Neither team did much of anything. I’ve already wasted too much time on this. Fantasy Player of the Week: Cedric Benson (111yds 1td)
Detroit 21 at Green Bay 31: The Lions complete the worst season in the history of organized sports with the big loss. On the plus side, Calvin Johnson is fantastic. Fantasy Players of the Week: Aaron Rodgers (308yds 3td), DeShawn Wynn (106yds 1td), Donald Driver (111yds 1td), Calvin Johnson (102yds 2td)
Chicago 24 at Houston 31: Chicago has relied on the D for the better part of a quarter century, but the last few weeks, those guys look old and tired. Houston goes into the off season on a high note, but they need to figure out how to get over the hump. Andre Johnson... read the complete article.

by: erik 12/23/08 07:56 amWeek 16 in the NFL cleared up a couple of playoff slots, but not all of them. That is why the NFL has the market of exciting regular seasons cornered. They have done such a good job with parity we honestly don’t know who the superior teams are at this point in the season. We can speculate and guess, but how many different teams have “appeared” to be the class of the NFL at different times this year? 5 or 6 perhaps? Maybe even a few more? Anyway, it just makes next week that much interesting. Let’s roll.

Indianapolis 31 at Jacksonville 24: Peyton and the Colts do it again. This team was buried after the first 5 games, but have come roaring back. The Jags put up a good fight, but fell short as usual this year. Fantasy Player of the Game: Peyton Manning (364yds 3td), Reggie Wayne (108yds 1td), Dallas Clark (105yds 1td), David Garrard (329yds 1 pass td, 1 run td), Dennis Northcutt (101yds 1td)
Baltimore 33 at Dallas 24: Nice send off for Texas Stadium. Back to back td runs of more than 75 yards. I don’t think anyone is worried about Dallas in the playoffs. Baltimore did a nice job on both sides of the ball. Fantasy Player of the Game: LeRon McLain (139yds 1td), Willis McGahee (108yds 1td), Tony Romo (252yds 2td)
Cincinnati 14 at Cleveland 0: I’ve got nothing to say about this. It was boring. Fantasy Player of the Game: Bengals D (4 ints, 1td, shutout)
New Orleans 42 at Detroit 7: If the Saints could play the Lions every week,... read the complete article.

by: erik 12/16/08 08:54 amWeek 15 is in the books. It’s that tough time of year for fantasy football. Your playoffs are probably starting, yet NFL teams are starting to keep their studs on the bench to get ready for the playoffs. Let’s roll.

New Orleans 24 at Chicago 27: Both teams needed this win to keep their playoff chances reasonable. It only worked for the Bears. Fantasy Player of the Game: Drew Brees (232yds 2td), Pierre Thomas (146 total yards 2td)
Tampa Bay 10 at Atlanta 13 OT: This was a classic NFC South match-up and it delivered. Sure, there wasn’t a ton of offense, but it showed the Falcons are for real. Fantasy Player of the Game: Michael Turner (156yds 1td)
Washington 13 at Cincinnati 20: What happened to the Redskins? When you lose to the Bengals, you have to question yourselves. Fantasy Player of the Game: Ryan Fitzpatrick (209yds 1 pass td, 1 run td)
Tennessee 12 at Houston 13: the mighty Titans just couldn’t stop the Texans offense. Give some credit to the Texans D also. They pretty much shut down the Titans. Fantasy Player of the Game: Andre Johnson (207yds 1td)
Detroit 21 at Indianapolis 31: For the fourteenth week in a row, the Lions played hard for about three quarters, then collapsed. The Colts are probably the one team right now that nobody in the AFC wants to play. Fantasy Player of the Game: Domanic Rhodes (86yds 2td), Dallas Clark (142yds 1td), Calvin Johnson (110yds 1td)
Green Bay 16 at Jacksonville 20... read the complete article.

by: erik 12/8/08 08:48 pmAs week 14 draws to a close, week 15 is right around the corner. A couple of playoff spots got wrapped up and everything, so let’s get right to it.


Oakland 7 at San Diego 34: The Chargers dominated the Raiders. They didn’t look great doing it, but the Raiders make everyone look at least ok. Fantasy players of the game: Philip Rivers (214yds 3td), Vincent Jackson (148yds 1td), Darren Sproles (64 total yards 2tds)
Jacksonville 10 at Chicago 23: The Jags just look done. The Bears are week to week. One week you get a crappy D and a bad O and the next week you get a competent D and a competent O. This week they were competent. Fantasy player of the game: Kyle Orton (219yds 1td)
Minnesota 20 at Detroit 16: I’ll give the Lions credit for trying. They are clearly the worst team in the NFL, but they try as hard as any team. The Vikings are atop the North, but they just don’t look like a team that will scare anyone. Fantasy player of the game: Calvin Johnson (84yds 1td)
Houston 24 at Green Bay 21: What happened to the Packers D? They gave up 549 yards to the Texans and couldn’t stop them at all. Rodgers kept them in it, but the D gave it away. The Texans looked pretty darn good. Fantasy players of the game: Matt Schaub (414yds 2td), Aaron Rodgers (295yds 2td), Kevin Walter (146yds 1td), Ryan Grant (104yds 1td)
Cincinnati 3 at Indianapolis 35: I don’t even want to talk about how bad the Bengals are any more. The Colts... read the complete article.

by: erik 12/2/08 09:18 amI hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Too bad the football wasn’t a little closer. Let’s get to it.

Tennessee 47 at Detroit 10: The Titans just steamrolled the Lions. There’s really nothing else to say. Fantasy Players of the Game: Chris Johnson (125yds 2td), LenDale White (106yds 2td)
Seattle 9 at Dallas 34: The Cowboys just steamrolled the Seahawks. There’s really nothing else to say here either. Fantasy Players of the Game: Tony Romo (331yds 3td), Jason Witten (115yds 1td)
Arizona 20 at Philadelphia 48: The Eagles just steamrolled the Cards. There’s really nothing else to say here either. The games sucked this Thanksgiving. Fantasy Players of the Game: Donovan McNabb (260yds 4td), Brian Westbrook (110yds 4td), Kurt Warner (235yds 3td), Larry Fitzgerald (65yds 2td)
San Francisco 10 at Buffalo 3: And the sucking rolled into Sunday. Neither team did anything interesting and both looked pretty crappy. Fantasy Player of the Game: Isaac Bruce (67yds 1td)
Baltimore 34 at Cincinnati 3: And the sucking rolled on. The Bengals shouldn’t be allowed on tv anymore. The Ravens sure look good against horrible teams. Fantasy Players of the Game: Joe Flacco (280yds 2td), Mark Clayton (164yds 1td)
Indianapolis 10 at Cleveland 6: And the sucking continued here. No offensive td’s for two offenses we all thought would be phenomenal this year. Fantasy Player of the Game: Colts D (1 int, 1 fum, 1td)
Miami 16... read the complete article.

by: erik 11/25/08 08:38 amThere was a ton of entertaining football this week. High scoring was everywhere. Teams rolling all over the field was everywhere too. We had two teams over 50, and half the league over 27. That’s the kind of stuff fantasy players live for.

Cincinnati 10 at Pittsburgh 27: With a little snow falling, this was truly football. Of course it was the Bengals, so it was only really football on one side of the ball. Fantasy Player of the Game: Ben Roethlisberger (243yds 1td pass, 1 run td)
Philadelphia 7 at Baltimore 36: Baltimore bounces back with a big win and everyone in Philly wants Donovan to be gone. After 10 turnovers in 2 games, I don’t blame them, but he’s still better than Kolb. Fantasy Player of the Game: LeRon McClain (88yds 1td)
Houston 16 at Cleveland 6: This didn’t turn out to be the shoot out we all thought it would be because of bad QB play on both sides of the ball. Fantasy Player of the Game: Kevin Walter (93yds 1td)
Tampa Bay 38 at Detroit 20: The Lions jumped all over the Bucs to start this and then the real Lions showed up and got smoked. Fantasy Player of the Game: Warrick Dunn (90yds 1td)
Buffalo 54 at Kansas City 31: This was a fun game to watch, I don’t care what anyone says. Neither team really could stop the other. It was a classic up and down the field match-up. Who would have thought? Fantasy Player of the Game: Trent Edwards (273yds 2 pass td, 2 run td), Tyler Thigpen (240yds 3td)
Chicago... read the complete article.