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10/3/00
Email Commish
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Well I spent the last Monday in the pressure cooker known as the
RCA Dome and as much as I love watching pro football live I think
I'd prefer to watch it on TV. Maybe it was just the experience of
watching football in a dome on carpet. I think the worst part though
was listening to the horrible music choices of the Colts PA announcer.
Trust me, with my radio background I know a little about music,
these guys played every C & C Music factory song ever recorded...
that was cool in 1991 but not right now. Play me a little 3 Doors
Down or Seven Mary Three or heck a little Insane Clown Posse would
be cool but don't play any of that MTV Dance Party 1991 crap.
We have completed a third of the NFL season and what were bad games
or good games are now becoming trends. Of course there are still
players and teams that book is still out on but let's face facts,
if you have a bad offensive line, you have a bad offensive line.
Isn't it interesting that the one real position that is virtually
ignored by fantasy leagues has the biggest impact?
I figure this week we'll look at two different items, players and
teams that are becoming trends and what you should do with them
and trading.
Here are some unfortunate trends for fantasy football players:
Washington Redskins Consistency
A lot of people are ready to burn Brad Johnson at the stake. Not
me, at least not for his performance but maybe for his future worth.
The problem with the Redskin's offense has nothing to do with Johnson's
ability but everything to do with lack of receiving talent and the
sieve like offensive line. With Michael Westbrook the receiving
corps was above average, without, it's less than average. Don't
get me wrong but Andre Reed and Irving Fryar should have been in
a TV booth 5 years ago. Albert Connell? A great number two receiver
but no number one. Let's talk about that offensive line. Kory Raymer,
starting center, out for the year with torn knee ligaments and now
Tre Johnson gets his knee rolled up on yesterday by the QUARTEBACK
and he may me be out for a while. So now not only does Johnson not
have anyone to throw the ball too he has no time time to do it.
This also has a significant affect on Stephen Davis. How long will
he be able to put good numbers behind a bad line? And you know that
the second time around their conference teams will be stacking 8
and 9 men in the box to stop the run and daring the 'Skins to beat
them long.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Many of the same problems. Good and bad for Jacksonville, if they
can stay in the hunt long enough to get in the play-offs (no given
considering NY Jets, Buffalo, Indy, Tennessee, Baltimore, and Oakland
all look like play-off teams) then they should get the starting
center back that they lost last week to a broken foot, Leon Searcy,
and Tony Boselli should be completely healthy. But if they can't
protect Mark Brunell any better it'll be George from Big Brother
behind center. How about a bigger problem for fantasy owners, how
is anyone going to run behind this line and stay healthy.
Keyshawn Johnson
Is it not enough that he doesn't even trash talk well but then he
adds the weekly insult of no production. Get used to it folks, he
may have good game here or there but until the Tampa Bay Offense
gets one more receiver and a LOT MORE quarterback KJ ain't doing
diddly.
Edgerrin James
A lot of people are down on the Edge. I don't understand it. First
of all this team is not playing very good defense so before too
much longer James is going to be running the clock off and racking
up large yardage amounts because Indy cannot continue to win with
Peyton and Harrison alone. Think of the season as having four quarters
with your playoffs coming in quarter 3. James will take over the
game during your playoffs… get there and you will win.
Jerry Rice
The man is having a great season. Before you dismiss it as a fluke
think of what the doctors always say… it takes a full year to recover
from a knee injury. He didn't give his first injury a full year
and then suffered a second injury that was a year old last year.
I think he can score some valuable points for you this season so
get him cheap if you can.
Vinny Testaverde
I am worried. I traded him this week at every opportunity. Whenever
a healthy Vinny gets sat down for Ray Lucas I get antsy… you should
too. Throw in the fact that he has no height at receiver and little
speed and you can see that this situation will get worse before
it gets better. The biggest benefit that Vinny has is Curtis Martin.
Although I have to wonder how much abuse he will be able to take
before he begins to wear down. But somebody please tell me... is
Curtis Martin the most underrated running back in the NFL? I mean
he has been freaking awesome.
This past weekend two of my leagues that allow trades to take place
only twice a year (week 4 and 8) had their trading sessions and
I made a few deals that I thought you'd like to know about:
HFL (Performance)
I traded Mark Brunell and Amani Toomer for Brian Griese and Qadry
Ismail.
As hard as I tried I couldn't trade Fred Taylor... nobody was willing
to part with what I thought he was still worth… which is less after
last week. If you have Taylor and would like to trade him you'd
be better off holding him until his value comes back up, which means
you may be stuck with him.
MFFL(Yardage Keeper)
Oronde Gasden for Bubba Franks
Eddie George for Duce Staley
Duce Staley and Amani Toomer for Mike Alstott and Travis Taylor
Vinny Testaverde and Marvin Harrison for Akili Smith and Randy Moss
Tony Banks, Ricky Williams & Randy Moss for Kurt Warner, Trent
Green & James Allen
CCL (Dynasty League)
Gary Anderson, Carl Pickens, Wayne Chrebet for Derrick Alexander
and Sean Dawkins
Duce Staley and James McKnight for Tyrone Wheatley and Sylvester
Morris
Remember what I said a few weeks ago… they are only names on a paper.
By the way, at last weeks trade session I made some fantastic BBQ
cheese dip with nacho chips and brownies.
Here is this weeks recipe. Far from being sweet, this marmalade
is a delicious savory relish.
| S T
E A K |
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4 Beef Loin Steaks (NY Strip) |
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2 tsp wholegrain mustard |
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2 tbsp sunflower
oil |
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grated rind and
juice of 1/2 orange |
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salt and pepper |
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cooked new potatoes,
to serve |
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| R E
D O N I O N M A R M A L A D E |
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2 tbsp olive oil |
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1 pound red onions, cut into
rings |
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3/4 cup red wine |
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rind of 1 orange,
grated |
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1 tbsp superfine
sugar |
1. To
make the marmalade, place the olive oil and onions in
a saucepan and sauté gently for 5-10 minutes, until
the onions are just softened and are beginning to turn
golden-brown. Do not let them overcook!
2. Add the wine, orange rind, and sugar to the pan and
simmer for 10-15 minutes until the onions are tender
and most of the liquid has evaporated. Let cool, then
season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Make a few cuts in the edge of fat around each steak
to prevent the meat from curling as it cooks.
4. Using a knife, spread each steak with a little of
the mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Mix together the oil and the orange juice and rind
in a small bowl, and use this mixture to baste the steaks
occasionally during cooking.
6. Broil the steaks over hot coals, searing the meat
over the hottest part of the barbecue for 2 minutes
on each side, basting occasionally with the orange mixture.
Move the meat to an area with slightly less intense
heat and cook, basting occasionally for 4-10 minutes
on each side, depending on how well done you like you
steaks.
7. Transfer the steaks to plates and serve with the
red onion marmalade and new potatoes. |
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