Each week of games is another day in the classroom for fantasy football
2001. Study and you have a chance at passing the course at the end
of the semester. Fall asleep after closing the local bars and you
will receive an "F". Here is what we learned Week 11...
Anyone can be an NFL coach, ask Dave Campo
When the score went to 26-16 almost midway through the fourth quarter,
Dallas Head Coach Dave Campo had a decision to make. He could kick
the extra point and cut the deficit to nine points, which would
mean scoring another touchdown, kicking the extra point, and then
kicking a field goal for the win or he could go for the two-point
conversion and if the Cowboys were successful they would need a
touchdown and another two-point conversion for a tie. Both are rather
daunting tasks for the talent-challenged Cowboys. Each scenario
means the Cowboys would have to score 23 points minimum in the fourth
quarter and the Cowboys had only scored 24 points once in a whole
game this season. Campo decided to kick the extra point because
he felt that they would not make the two-point conversion and it
would be easier to kick the extra field goal than to make the requisite
two-two point conversions. Teams with a superior offense and a great
field goal kicker may be cocky enough to think that they could drive
the field once for a score and then drive far enough again to put
themselves in position to kick a game-winner but Campo had Ryan
Leaf - lifetime QB rating 50.0 with a 14/36 TD-INT ratio - at QB
and Jon Hilbert - 2-for-4 in field goal attempts - as a kicker.
Making the first touchdown would take a miracle let alone then driving
to put the team in place to kick a winning field goal. Moreover,
they had to make the field goal. The play is simple. Campo should've
tried the first two-pointer. If he failed then he falls back on
the extra point/field goal scenario for a tie. This is, of course,
inherent on the fact that the Cowboys stop the Broncos from scoring.
The Broncos might've had problems scoring as they were trying to
pick themselves off the ground after seeing Campo blow a call that
millions of 10-year olds make everyday while playing computer football.
We know that Campo is a stooge for Jerry Jones but can't someone
help him with the most rudimentary football strategies so the laughingstock
in Dallas can pose as a football team.
Lamar Smith is Killing the Dolphins
Smith is at this point the starting running back for the Miami Dolphins.
The question all should ask is why. Since rushing for 144 yards
Week 4 against the Patriots, he has gained 269 yards in the following
six weeks. Matter-of-fact in a strange bit of irony he has been
wonderfully consistent in his dreadful performance stringing together
two-week efforts of 89, 90, and 90 rushing yards. In those six weeks
he has not had a single game with a per carry average of over 2.9
yards. String three Lamar Smith carries together and you are still
a full yard short of the first down. This hurts the Dolphins as
they are always looking at second and long or third and long. The
chances of stretching together long drives when the opposition knows
you have to throw are slim. The slow emergence of Travis Minor is
overdue. He is a smaller, quicker man that doesn't need the type
of hole a depleted Miami line can't consistently produce. He also
has better hands, which gives the coaching staff a wider array of
plays to use when he is on the field. There is no talk of changing
as Dave Wannstedt gave Smith a vote of confidence a week ago but
it is coming if things don't change. At least, it should be coming.
Kordell Stewart/Hines Ward the Small Town
Montana/Rice
Horrible exaggeration? Sure. However, Stewart, in his last five
games hasn't thrown an interception, has thrown five TDs and run
for three more. No, it isn't Montana or Steve Young or Jeff Garcia
but it is a viable QB for a professional football team. As a fantasy
QB he is somewhere in the top-12 depending on the scoring system
but if we look at the last three-to-five weeks he is a monster with
passing yards, rushing yards, and a decent mix of scores. Ward isn't
Jerry Rice either but in a performance league he is a solid No.
2 receiver. Stewart and Ward are the reasons why the Steelers are
playing. Teams have attempted to crowd the line against Jerome Bettis
and are finding the short, accurate passing game of Stewart and
Ward picking them clean.
Running Game and Tough-D is the Key to Redskins
Rising from the Ashes
Stop me if I've said this before but teams that can run the football
consistently and play good defense are very tough to beat. Sure
it helps to have a big playmaker on the wing but if you can run
the football and play defense you can walk into the playoffs. The
best part of that combination is it means the team does not have
to have a great QB running the show. Last year's Super Bowl would
be exhibit A. Neither team possessed great QBs or, in Baltimore's
case, barely average but both were the best teams at the end of
the year. Does this mean we are proposing the Washington Redskins
as a Super Bowl entry? No. What this means is we think the 'Skins
are for real. The last four weeks playing four average or better
than average teams they have outscored the opposition 92-48. They
are moving the ball on the ground with 654 rushing yards in those
four games. The reason running the ball is key to the Redskins is
that it keeps the ball out of Tony Banks' tiny hands - tiny hands,
tiny. . . With the weather getting nasty in the North and East,
the ability to run the ball is paramount to playing well in the
final weeks. Washington is a legitimate player in the NFC.
Jake Plummer is as Good as Kurt Warner and
Peyton Manning
Nipping at the vanilla extract is what you are thinking, right?
Nope. Look at the recent numbers. Last three weeks Warner has five
TDs and seven picks, Manning has five TDs and seven picks, and Jake
has six TDs and four picks. To be honest, I am not a lover of trend
analysis as it pushes people to make irrational statements like
the one above. No one is going to trade Warner or Manning for Plummer
straight up. If they do, get them one of those Jimmy Smith blood
tests. However, things change as the season trudges along. Peyton
Manning injured and without Edgerrin James is not the quarterback
he was at the start of the season. Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt look
good on the roster but haven't played as well as Troy Brown, Curtis
Conway, or Qadry Ismail. When making decisions regarding trades
look past the name and look at the performance because reality is
more important than perception.
The Line for the Chopping Block is Getting
Long
Coaches have long been held accountable for the record of the franchises
they coach. When things go bad, they will pay the price. This year
there are some very big resumes waiting for a swift blow from the
executioner. Jim Mora is almost certain to be gone. One year of
bad defense was livable but a second year of having a great offensive
team stymied because the defense can't stop anyone is unacceptable.
It is not all his fault but. . . Dennis Green should be gone. And
the accountability is all his as he purchases the players as well
as coaches them. Minnesota is a mess with no defense or running
game and two of their three marquee players - Randy Moss/Cris Carter
- have acted like children. Green was the "New sheriff in town"
when he arrived but it looks like he isn't able to keep the peace
even among his deputies. Only people sad to see him leave are the
Twin Cities local OB/GYNs. Third on the block should be Jim Fassel.
His Super Bowl team retained almost all of their talent. In addition,
they played in the weakest division in the NFL. It is nip and tuck
whether they will make the playoffs when they were even money to
win the division. The defense has been reasonable but the offense
can't move the ball. That is Fassel's area of expertise. The passing
game has regressed even with all the same characters. His guarantee
made headlines a year ago but looks silly when he uses the same
ploy this season. It was the act of a man over his head. Finally,
Tony Dungy must go. Despite the great effort against the Rams, the
Buccaneers have regressed as a team the past two seasons and all
fingers must point to Dungy. The offense, despite the presence of
Brad Johnson, Keyshawn Johnson, Warrick Dunn, and Mike Alstott,
is twenty-second in the NFL in yards-per-game. The defense, which
was once a terror, is flabby and tired. They have serious problems
against the run and Warren Sapp talks more than he walks. Looking
for a few others to take a hit, Mike Riley of San Diego, Tom Coughlin
of Jacksonville, and George Seifert of Carolina are all very vulnerable.
Mark Bond can be found,
most days, listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, eating hot sausage sandwiches
topped with BBQ chips, chili, and coleslaw, slapping back Cuervo
shooters, and rambling on about those warm evenings spent with Janet
Reno. He is not related to James Bond but has the same air of sophistication
of Sean Connery. Mark is currently annoying his workmates at Jackpot
Sports, home of the first daily fantasy baseball game, the Reggie
Jackson Fantasy Baseball Challenge, plus weekly and seasonal Fantasy
Football games.
