No-Brainers
Rich Gannon vs KC
Drew Bledsoe vs Cin
Daunte Culpepper @ Det
Peyton Manning vs Jax
Aaron Brooks vs Car
(Walter34)
Mike McMahon vs Minnesota
First of all a few general comments. Thanks to Mike and torridjoe
for the opportunity to add my take on picks this week. Hopefully
my picks won't steer you wrong in an always unpredictable week 17.
The final week of the regular season is tough because you have to
be wary of games that are meaningless for playoff teams. Often stars
are rested and FF dreams are shattered with that stud that carried
you all season resting and laughing it up on the sidelines. The
only team that I would strongly advise avoiding this week is the
SF 49ers. Come Monday night, it is very likely that their playoff
position will be set and they will have nothing to gain from a victory
over the Rams. A Chicago upset over TB will give them an opportunity
for the #3 seed, but otherwise they are locked in at #4 heading
into the post season. Avoid starting any 49ers if possible. As a
final note, the Bears defense is the sleeper of the week playing
in the cold weather against Rob "go ahead and sack me"
Johnson.
Mike McMahon took over for Harrington a couple of weeks ago and
faces the porous Minnesota defense this week at home. The Vike's
defense has yielded an average of 253 yards passing and 2 TD passes
to opposing quarterbacks while performing relatively well against
the run. This game has all the makings of a shootout and could
mean a big day for McMahon. The Lions are at home and have some
inter-divisional pride to play for and focused largely on the
passing game in their last meeting with Minn. McMahon may even
be available on waivers this week. If you are stuck without a
stud at QB this week, he could be an unlikely hero to finish off
your FF season.
McMahon Recap:
(19-44, 293 yds, 3 TDs, 3 INTs; 3 rush, 43 yds)
I'll admit, tossing 3 interception and a dismal 43% completion
rate doesn't usually get the "grade A" stamp of
approval, but the total yardage, 3 TDs and degree of difficulty
associated with this pick overwhelms the negatives. It was
nice to see the Lions open up the offense and let McMahon
take some chances downfield. Too bad the two-point conversion
failed at the end of this game, as the entertainment value
was high... plus, I wanted to see if Mornhinweg would make
the right call had he won the toss in overtime.
Grade: A
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(whoisjgalt)
Matt Hasselbeck at San Diego
Like Walter34, I'd like to say thanks to Mike and Mark for allowing
the forums the opportunity to add our take on picks this week.
For most of us, fantasy football is now in the offseason. But
for a few, there remains a week seventeen fantasy super bowl.
I hope to provide you with some insight to guide you to victory.
Hasselbeck has performed well since taking over the Seahawks'
offense. While much of that success has come in garbage time,
fantasy football scoring doesn't care about that. The completions
to Darrell Jackson, Koren Robinson, and Jerramy Stevens are looking
easy for Hasselbeck. This is why Holmgren got him from Green Bay.
Meanwhile, San Diego's passing defense is 31st in yards allowed.
Hasselbeck
Recap:
(36-53, 449 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT; 7 rush, 42 yd, 1 TD)
I think we can all safely agree this was an 'A' pick. After looking like a Grade A Schmuck for the better part of his career, this is the second time in a month that Hasselbeck has put up a 400 yard game with three TDs. A bonus is that this time he actually won the game! I saw this team get humiliated at home by the Redskins--or at least the ticket said it was the Seahawks, because now I'm not so sure it was the same team. Too bad for Seattle that they finally started to get it together only after it was too late, but that's usually the way for a lot of teams. One team it didn't go that way for was the Chargers. For the second year in a row, the second half of the season was Bombsville. Their pass D was their undoing, and Hasselbeck exposed them quite nicely in an effort that was meaningless for the team, but probably handed him the starting job in 2003.
Grade: A
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(Bill
Swerski)
Patrick Ramsey vs Dallas
Unlike the other two guys, I don't wish to thank Mike for finally
giving me an outlet to dispense my obvious Fantasy Football genius.
I demand a full time column next season in which I will prove
once and for all that I know more than Bunster and The Soloist
combined.
As the season comes to a merciful close for the Cowboys and the
illustrious perm of Dave "L'il Bunster" Campo, Steve
Spurrier has the opportunity to FINALLY deliver some joy to Redskins
nation. With the notable exception of Emmitt Smith, the Cowboys
have mailed it in the past two weeks and I don't see a reversal
of that trend in the cards. This team has nothing to play for
and Spurrier has everything to play for. A ten game losing streak,
pride, glory, and redemption of his mediocre debut season are
all on the line for Spurrier and his ego. I expect the Redskins
to deliver a belated Christmas gift to Dan Scrooge Snyder and
take the Cowboys down, Fun 'n Gun style. The Cowboys give up 227
yards per game through the air and I see Ramsey throwing for 270
yards and 2 TD's.
Ramsey Recap:
(17-31, 209 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INT; 3 rush, -5 yds)
While Ramsey did reach 200 yards, he also threw 2 INTs and
did not find the endzone unless you count his own on Roy Williams
Interception return. The game did not play out in favour of
big numbers for the rookie qb. Washington was able to run
the ball effectively and jumped out to a lead. This enabled
the skins to run out the clock for much of the 4th quarter.
Grade: C-
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