SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY

A recap of this week in football, fantasy and otherwise


Well, I'm pissed. As most of you know, I am a huge Jacksonville Jaguars fan. I became a fan back in 1996, their second year in existence and I’ve loved them more than any sports team. Since I’ve moved out here to California, I rarely get to watch them on TV anymore, so most Sundays I am forced to listen to their games on the radio. Sitting there, trying to imagine the plays unfold as they are being described by the radio announcer can be a maddening experience at times. You become exhilarated when the announcer raises his voice in a high pitch exclamation in anticipation of a score. And you become disconsolate when your team gives up a big play. I'm always hoping for the best but expecting the worst. When the Jags rip off a big play, I don’t know whether to root for the player to keep on running and breaking tackles, or to just fall down and not fumble. If the defense gets a stop on 3rd down (something that rarely happend during this game) I fully expect there to be a flag thrown.Football is such a beautiful and tortuous game, and I was reminded of this once again this Sunday as the Jags lost to the hated Tennessee Titans. I was overjoyed when David Garrard hit John Broussard with a 47 yard bomb for a TD. Yet, when the Jags gave up the lead, I spent the rest of the game lying on back, eyes shut, trying to will a Jags comeback. But alas, the defense kept getting gashed (where did you go Big John Henderson?) by the Titans running backs who eventually ran out the clock. It was a rough loss, as Jacksonville finally got competent QB play, yet the offensive and defensive lines, the two things that the Jags always could count on every year, let them down. The loss crushed me and its only week one. Listening to them play is such a bitter-sweet experience. I’m looking forward to next week, yet dreading it at the same time.



Now for a recap on fantasy:


VOLDEMORT-100
TRIPLE T’S PAINTRAIN- 65.

Analysis: It shouldn’t even be this close. If it wasn’t for a monster performance from Plaxico Burress (140+ yards and 3 TD’s…32 fantasy points), TRIPLE T’S PAINTRAIN would not have even cracked 40 points. When your running backs (including the number 2 pick in the draft) combine for a total of 4 points, you really don’t deserve to win….VOLDEMORT demonstrated the clear cut advantages to having an Indianapolis Colt, or two, on your fantasy team. TE Antonio Gates also contributed with a huge game (16 fantasy points), which allowed VOLDEMORT to overcome mediocre performances from its running backs….Despite all that, if Chad Johnson can duplicate Burress’ performance and add a few more yards, VOLDEMORT could still lose. It’s a long shot, but he’s done it before.


DUMMY TEAM 3- 80
LVL INFINITY + 1 TEAM- 78

This matchup is tantalizingly close. Both team’s QB’s performed better than expected, however LVL INFINITY was let down by its WR corp and running backs. It was bolstered by a surprisingly strong performance by TE Jason Witten who contributed a whopping 17 fantasy points. On the other side, LDT had a horrible game running the ball, yet still managed to throw a touchdown pass and contribute 17 fantasy points. With WR Anquon Boldin yet to play for DUMMY TEAM 3, the only chance LVL INFINITY has to win is if Boldin fumbles the ball a couple of times, or somehow manages to throw an INT. To make matters worse, LVL INFINITY’S RB Brandon Jacobs may be injured, so the team will have to look at putting him on the injured list if necessary. If he is injured, they should definitely not cut him though because he will likely be back later in the year.


COWBOYS-70
DUMMY TEAM TWO- 38

The COWBOYS will likely rack up a lot more points tomorrow night as they have their first round pick, Frank Gore, running the ball tomorrow night. He tore up Arizona last year, and I look for him to do the same again this year. The COWBOYS got inspired performances out of their top two WR’s, whom I ripped in my previews, yet were let down by their QB and defense (which totaled negative 1 fantasy points)….This matchup could still become intriguing though as DUMMY TEAM TWO still has RB Rudi Johnson, and its top two receivers going on Monday Night. If Johnson can keep pace with Gore, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Fitzgerald and Houshmenzedah can close the gap fantasy points wise.


BIG TUNA- 124
PINK PONIES- 59







STEELERS OWN COWBOYS- 82

RILEY'S RAIDERS- 66





Due to technical difficulties (i.e. Yahoo taking down the fantasy points scored today just as I was beginning my writeup of the BIG TUNA/PINK PONIES clash) I was not able to complete a writeup for the last two matchups. Hopefully yahoo will have the points up again soon and I can get the writeups posted. For now, thank you for your patience....