Sports

[gardenman]

We start out this week with an exciting playoff preview! Nah, just kidding. The Jets go to Indy to take on the Colts. This should be a pretty easy win for the Colts. I'll take the Colts.

Atlanta goes to New Orleans to face whoever the Saints can find to play QB. Jameis Winston is out. Trevor Siemian might be the guy? The Saints are the better team, but the Falcons have the better QB. Eh, who to pick? I'll go with the Falcons in this one.

Denver goes to Dallas to get spanked. Trading away your best defensive player before heading to face the Cowboys may not be the most effective strategic move. I'll take the Cowboys in this one. (Though they're about due for a lapse where they assume the other team will roll over and play dead for them. This could be that week.)

The Patriots take on the Panthers and I absolutely know a team with a name that starts with Pa will win. Which one? Eh, I guess I'll take the Patriots.

Minnesota goes to Baltimore. The Vikings have managed to resurrect their defense and are playing pretty well on defense. I don't think they'll play well enough to beat the Ravens though. I'll take Baltimore in this one.

Cleveland goes to Cincy to take on the Bengals. I'll take Joe Burrow and the Bengals in this one. 

Buffalo gets something of a bye by going to Jacksonville to crush the Jags. I'll take the Bills big in this one.

Houston and Miami are locked in an epic battle to see which team most deserves that first overall pick in 2022. With the Deshaun Watson trading nonsense now finally behind us for a few months will the Texans dust him off and let him play? Probably not. I've got a bad feeling the Dolphins win this one. I'll take the Dolphins.

The Raiders go to Tear Up Your Knee Field in NJ to play the Giants. The Raiders are without Henry Ruggs after his DUI accident. They cut him loose. He's got issues. I think the Raiders are the better team even without Ruggs though, so I'll take the Raiders in this one.

The Chargers come to Philly. The Chargers have one of the worst run defenses in the league and Nick Sirianni finally remembered he had running plays on his call sheet last week and we ran all over, around, and through the Lions. We should be able to run through the Chargers. We just can't get too stupid and cute. I'm taking the Eagles in this one.

Green Bay goes to KC in a big, big test for KC. This has shootout potential, assuming Patrick Mahomes can regain his form. I'm just not sure he can find his groove again this quickly. I'm taking the Packers in this one. The Chiefs are just "off" this year.

The Cards take on the Niners in a game where the Niners absolutely have to win to keep whatever very slim playoff hopes they still have alive. The Niners are four behind the Cards now and a loss would drop them five back. Despite them needing to win, I think the Niners lose. I'm taking the Cards in this one.

The Titans take on the Rams in a pretty good Sunday Night game. That Titans offense is built around Derrick Henry who is out with a broken foot. Can they adapt to life without Henry? Will Von Miller be fired up playing for the Rams after his trade from Denver? I'll take the Rams in this one.

And we end the week with the Bears at the Steelers. One of the youngest kid QBs against the grizzled vet in Roethlisberger. Neither team is especially good right now, but I'll give the edge to the Steelers.

[teganslaw]

TY Hilton and CB Keyes are out for the Colts. S Khari Willis is doubtful, and they lost Tyquan Lewis for the season. 

It seems that the Jets are going with White as QB. I don't expect the Jets to just roll over, but maybe they'll be a bit hung over after their win last week. 

[teganslaw]

Aaron Rodgers has tested positive for Covid and won't play Sunday. Jordan Love will be starting in his place. That will get interesting. This could put the Chiefs as favorites. 

BTW, the Eagles can drive a person crazy in fantasy. One never knows who to start at RB since Sanders is out. Gainwell was expected to have a big game; instead Boston Scott and Jordan Howard got the ball. This week, who knows? Then Jalen Hurts also rushes, so take him into consideration. Devonta Smith sometimes has a huge game; sometimes not. The team's defense is inconsistent. Myabe the best thing to do is not have any Eagles in the lineup. Just because one never knows who to start. 

[AuntG]

Oh, I hope you are kidding @teganslaw .

[teganslaw]

---

@AuntG wrote:

Oh, I hope you are kidding @teganslaw .

---

No, not kidding. This is reported on the NFL website and other sports venues.  No Rodgers Sunday. 

[Spurt]

Here we are at week 9----

I get a reprieve since my WFT is on their BYE WEEK!

JETS VS COLTS--Despite the performance by Mike White to help the Jets to a win, I'm taking the more talented COLTS!

FALCONS VS SAINTS--Winston is out for the Saints and Trevor Siemian will be in charge, and the Falcons do have Matty Ice....but Ive gone with Matty before but he didnt come through, As the song by The Who goes, "we won't be fooled again" so this time around Ill take the SAINTS home!

BRONCOS VS COWBOYS----Sounds like a rodeo---Von Miller is headed towards Hollywood....LA that is!!!  And its looking good for Dak to return for this game....The Broncos barely beat my WFT mostly because of WFT's mistakes (turnovers, penalties) and 2 missed FGs.  Unfortunately, I think the COWBOYS will win---Bridgewater and company wont be able to keep up with the scoring...

PATRIOTS VS PANTHERS---The Panthers have a very good defense, and the Partriots have a good offense....which will preside????  I just think Bill Belichick will have a plan to make Sam "see ghosts" once again, perhaps (perhaps some still hanging around from past games and looking for candy just after this year's Halloween celebration! ) .....Im taking the PATRIOTS!

VIKINGS VS RAVENS----Same ole Kirk Cousins just cant quite win big games, they are playing well on defense...Ravens became feast for the Bengals, but after their bye week, help is on the way as quite a few players will return from injury---Wolfe, Boyle, Murray, Mekari.....Im going with the revitalized and rested RAVENS!

BROWNS VS BENGALS---The BATTLE OF OHIO!!! The Browns have been battling injuries, especially Mayfield, although Chubb's return helped, Burrows and the Bengals lost to the LOWLY Jets---The Browns have struggled offensively---but women's intuition has me picking the BROWNS! 

BILLS VS JAGS---BILLS!

TEXANS VS DOLPHINS---No deal between these two teams for Watson this season...the Texans look awful...Im going with the DOLPHINS to get the WIN!

RAIDERS VS GIANTS---- The Giants are tied for last place in the NFC LEAST...and lost against the Cheifs in typical fashion. Ill take the better team---THE RAIDERS! 

CHARGERS VS EAGLES----After a good start, the Charges have stumbled and their defense needs to step up....The Eagles have been unpredictable----

Ill take Herbert over Hurts and the CHARGERS WIN!

PACKERS VS CHIEFS ---  Arron is out due to COVID....which means the Pack starts Jordan Love! With that happening I'll take the CHIEFS to WIN!!!

CARDINALS VS 49ers----Murray and the Cards will bounce back after a disappoint game---CARDS WIN!

TITANS VS RAMS---The TITANS loss of Derrick Henry is HUGE.....The Rams pick up Von Miller to add to their stalwart defense.....Going with THE RAMS in this won.

BEARS VS STEELERS---Same ole Bears-in a bad way, and same ole Steelers --in a good way---Tomlin has his team playing with a never say die attitude----STEELERS all the way!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

[gardenman]

So, with Rodgers, out, do I change my Green Bay/KC pick? Eh, I don't know. I think I'll stick with the pick and hope Jordan Love looks like he can play football. Maybe the Packers will rally around the kid. Who knows? 

The Eagles may be down a couple of wide receivers with Jalen Reagor and JJ Arcega-Whiteside both dinged. Odds are John Hightower will be activated from the practice squad to fill in. We also have Deon Cain and Keesean Johnson on the practice squad. We'll get some idea of how the coaches view all three PS guys based on who gets called up to fill in. I suspect it'll be Hightower, but you never know. Maybe one of the other guys has shown a lot on the PS and deserves a shot. 

[teganslaw]

Last I heard Deon Cain was on the Steelers' practice squad. I didn't know he was with the Eagles. He showed promise when he was with the Colts, but never got to play much, although not because of injuries. 

OBJ was excused from practice. His father issued a video on social media that showed where OBJ was open but never given the ball. He was thought to be on the trading block, but nothing happened in that respect. It sounds like he is on the outs with management, though I don't know details. 

[gardenman]

Deon Cain has bounced around a lot. The Colts drafted him originally and then he tore his ACL. Then he went to the Steelers, Ravens, and now the Eagles. Nick Sirianni knew him from his time with the Colts and brought him to Philly on October 18th of this year. 

He's a big kid, 6'-2" and around 203 lbs. He ran a 4.4 forty before his ACL injury. He's been quiet since joining the Eagles, but with the two receivers likely down this week, he might get elevated. He's played in the NFL a fair amount in his limited time in the league, but injuries have hindered him. If he can stay healthy and get back close to his original speed, he's got potential. 

I like poaching receivers from the Steelers. They have a knack for finding good receivers. If a receiver was in their camp at any time, odds are he's a pretty good receiver. Some teams just have a knack for finding/developing talent at certain positions. The Steelers almost always find good receivers. The Eagles tend to find and develop good o-linemen. There are probably ten starting o-linemen who came from the Eagles on other teams in the league right now.

Some teams just have a knack for finding talent at certain positions. I don't know if they have an especially good scout, good position coach, or are just really lucky, but when you know which teams are good at finding certain guys, you want to look  there anytime you need a player in that position.

Andy Reid has a knack for finding/developing good QBs. It's kind of uncanny how good he is at it. If you need a new QB and you find a guy who Andy liked, you grab him. Word is Jeff Lurie (the Eagles' owner) talked with Reid before agreeing to draft Jalen Hurts. Reid said Hurts was good, so the Eagles drafted him. 

Knowing which teams are good at finding certain types of players can help a GM find guys for his roster. 

[teganslaw]

Good game last night. Carson Wentz played flawlessly and Jonathan Taylor had 172 yards. Taylor is the first player to get over 100 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in his last 6 games since LaDanian Tomlinson did it in 2006. That's nice company to be in. They rushed for 206 yards total, which is an NFL season high.

The Colts allowed the Jets to score touchdowns later in the game. Elijah Moore was open a couple times, and easily scored. That was the only mistake the Colts made: some blown coverages. 

Mike White says that he'll be fine; the injury wasn't real serious. Josh Johnson did his best with what the Jets gave him. They just had no answer for the Colts offense.

The victory should have been easy since it was the Jets, but I'll enjoy this for now. Buffalo and Tampa are coming up a few weeks, so I'll take advantage of this win.