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 7...
Turnovers Suck
The St. Louis Rams were clubbing the Saints. It was a runaway then
eight turnovers later and the Saints beat the Rams. The Rams are
the better team. Please don't give me the look at the scoreboard
jive, the Rams would beat the Saints seven or eight times out of
ten. The Rams beat themselves. The Saints were just there for the
scraps. The Saints turned four of the turnovers - Jesus, two interceptions
at the line of scrimmage -- directly into points by marching 52
total yards for 16 points. The Saints never went the length of the
field to score - longest TD drive 48 yards after a good kickoff
return - making life easy for a quarterback struggling to find receivers.
That was the most egregious game but 49ers/Bears had three turnovers
go for scores, including the first play from scrimmage in overtime.
Turnovers suck!
Philly Vastly Overrated
They are a great team against the little sisters of the poor but
put that defensive line against real men and they quiver. They have
played three good - or were good when they played them - teams and
have lost two of the three. They were mauled by the Giants until
the Giants mauled themselves, the Rams bit down on them early and
the Raiders clubbed them into submission. Even the Cardinals whacked
them around. When they have a weak team, their aggressive, blitzing
defense beats the crap out of them. That makes the offense look
much better than it seems. They don't have to move the ball half
as far when the defense is playing like Ghengis Khan. Problem is
that when the defense gets pushed around, the offense shows all
its holes. The lack of a great run game, the wide receivers that
can't get open, and the quarterback that is caught between running
the ball and forcing it to players that aren't open. This team is
in the right division to put them in the playoffs but don't have
the players to go far enough after they get there.
Time To Put Ralph Wilson Out To Pasture
The quote making the rounds was that Ralph Wilson considered winning
the game between the Bills and Chargers bigger than winning the
Super Bowl. We think his priorities are a little skewed. His reason
to be passionate about a midseason contest against a team that isn't
a division rival was that it was littered with ex-employees. He
wanted to punish Doug Flutie and John Butler for being fired. Is
Monty Burns running the show? We could hear Wilson now "Donahoe,
who is that man down there?" Tom Donahoe replies, "That's
Doug Flutie sir, he used to be one of your grunts in Buffalo."
"Flutie, eh, I like the cut of that man's jib" would be
Wilson's retort. Maybe he just forgets the facts. He fired Flutie
because his people liked Rob Johnson. He fired John Butler because
the team was dying and he was at the wheel. He's pissed at Butler
because Butler hired away employees. What did Ralph Wilson expect?
Did he expect loyalty to an organization that had fired Butler?
Doesn't happen. The Bills took it on the chin when they gave up
a long kickoff return and then watched Flutie go 13 yards for the
touchdown. The celebration didn't start until Ralph's field goal
attempt was blocked. Then the ex-employees got to thumb their noses
at the tired old boss. Priceless.
Baltimore Found A Running Back
He doesn't have a big school college pedigree, like Terry Allen,
he doesn't have 8,000 rushing yards or 70-plus TDs, like Terry Allen,
he isn't a medical marvel, like Terry Allen, he hasn't been to the
Pro Bowl, like Terry Allen, and he can't jaw with coach Brian Billick
about the old days in Minnesota, like Terry Allen. What he can do
that Terry Allen can't do is bowl people over and that is why Jason
Brookins should be the starting running back for the Ravens. We
had our doubts a week ago but after his 77 yards on 15 carries,
in the second half against Jacksonville, he has our approval. If
Billick replaces Brookins with Allen it is for some other reason
outside of running the football. Like failing to give the coach
the stroking his fat ego warrants.
Vikings Are Looking Like A Bad NBA Franchise
This team can't play defense, want to take the ball to the rack
without any heavy lifting, and bicker like a bunch of old ladies
over a check at Denny's. If they had Isaiah Rider, George McCloud,
and Nick Van Exel on the field, we'd call them the Denver Nuggets.
It is a bad team heading for a season that is going to look very
ugly at the end. The preseason started with the tragedy of Korey
Stringer's death and the regular season will end with Cris Carter's
retirement party on a 6-10 team. To add to the insanity we have
coach Denny Green and owner Red McCombs trying to pump up Randy
"Insane in the membrane" Moss with predictions of 17 and
20 TDs. For the record, Moss has two TDs and would need two a game
from here on in to meet McCombs' prediction. A breathalyzer, of
McCombs, was not available at press time. At the end of the year
the fingers will be pointed at everyone but it started with Robert
Smith's defection, toss in Todd Steussie and John Randle, add the
drafting of Michael Bennett when defensive help was desperately
needed, the death of Stringer, the signing of manchild Moss to a
huge contract and we all have to look no further than Dennis Green.
It is his mess and he will be asked to clean it up.
Something Weird Going On With Turnovers
After Sunday I came to this blind conclusion that an awful lot of
turnovers were being turned into scores. Maybe it was the sight
of Vinny Testaverde dancing the tarantella with another defensive
player heading for pay dirt. Don't know if that was it but decided
to look it up. Last season we had 70 scores off of interceptions
and fumble returns, this season the pace looks closer to breaking
100. Is this a record? Don't know too lazy is the best I can muster,
but it sure seems out of whack. If this were baseball we'd be looking
at the ball or the bats or the ballparks or the strike zone or lack
of good pitching but it isn't baseball. We can't do that here. The
ball isn't at fault, or the field. Next place to look is if the
amount of turnovers have grown. Nope, we are on the same pace as
last season in regards to total turnovers. Nothing funky there.
We have 30-percent more turnovers taken home and I don't know why.
I think an investigation is in order but we aren't sure what to
investigate.
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.
