GoldenGate N The Pigskin Week

Wow!  The final play of the Packers/Seahawks game was shocking to say the least.  A clear interception by Jennings was somehow awarded a Seattle touchdown by Golden Tate.  Farcical.  First of all Tate clearly pushes off, Jennings catches the ball, falls with possession, Tate wraps up Jennings and the ball, and two refs throw up contradictory calls.  Fine.  Horrendous.  Sent to review.  Result is a touchdown.  Seems like the zebras wanted to escape Seattle with their lives.  Absolutely insane.
I can't fault the stripes on this one.  These fellas are not qualified to officiate in the NFL.  The games are getting a bit painful to watch as the officials cannot keep up with the play.  Lost.  Dazed. Confused.  Thanks NFL.
What happens if the Packers miss the playoffs because of last nights loss?

Anyways on to my teams.  The Giants shocked me.  I thought this was a loss and a coming out party on national television for Cam Newton.  Roll New York.  Nicks and Bradshaw were easily replaced by capable backups and Cam Newton had a stinker displaying Cutleresque body language.  Looks like Newton is a bit overvalued but I did enjoy Steve Smith calling him out for his behaviour.

The Patriots raised lots of questions in their loss to the Ravens.  First of all props to Torey Smith for the a great performance in trying times following the loss of his brother.  Again the officiating was awful.  The field goal seemed good to me.  Enough about that, this was not a game the Pats should have lost.  Can the Pats still close out games?  The play calling?  Welker and Brady were had good games.  No calls for Gronkowski?  Best tight end in the league gets three targets.  I understand he needs to help out with the blocking against the Ravens.  Do we not have a blocking tight end on the roster?  The plethora of second half carries for Woodhead?  Still scratching my head over the blown lead.  The defense is also looking a bit suspect.  Corners that cant cover.  Seems familiar.  No pass rush either.  I mean Flacco floated a few throws in the fourth quarter and McCourty and Arrington couldn't make the plays.  The season is early, the losses could have easily been wins, the results are sure to improve, but I would like to see this team put it all together like I have grown accustomed to.

League super bowl contenders so far are as follows.
NFC: Giants(continue to plug in players and win), Niners(everyone can have a stinker), Packers(got robbed)
AFC: Patriots(only three games in), Ravens(all on Flacco), Texans(have a suspicion they win it all)
The Falcons are getting lots of love but I don't see it.  Produce in January.  Otherwise they still are the Charges of the NFC to me.

Finally and most importantly Team Gagan is on a streak.  Two in a row. Yup. Yup.  By three points. I was sweating this one out.  Got Lafell(a dud, thanks Cam Newton), Bush(ok performance), and Pitta(starting at the flex this week for sure) off waivers this week.  Lafell and Thomas produced zilch at the wr position.  Gronk was rendered invisible by the Pats offensive coordinator.  My opponent had Brady and I have Gronk.  Sunday night was a trip balancing my love for the Patriots with the goals of Team Gagan.  Had to wait out the Packers game on Monday night to see how Jennings did for my foe.  Thankfully he didn't blow up fantasywise and the W was mine. For this week I put in a claim for the Cardinals d/st,  these guys make plays and the Jets d/st will suffer without Revis.  Shonn Greene and Lafell are headed to the bench with Pitta and Moore taking their places.  Bush becomes a starting running back and should produce with Forte hurt.  Not sure whether to trust or start Nicks and Bradshaw coming off injuries this week.  Hard decisions, think Nicks would be a safer choice.  Hmm, probably should just leave things.  I would like to applaud myself for starting RG3 over Vick.  RG3 turned it on late, pleasing his owner, and Vick is a hit away from the sideline either through injury or benching.  Loving life, tied for the overall league lead.

The First W

TEAM GAGAN NEWS

How sweet it is.  Yeah baby.  Got the week 2 win.  Love it, what a feeling.  Amazeballs.  A five point win is a win.  Say it with me.
Just think it I had started RG3 over Vick, it would have been a 14pt victory. Think its time to start RG3.  This week Vick plays the Cardinals.  We all saw what the Cardinals did last weekend to the Patriots with their fast ball hawking defense.  Means turnovers for the Eagles.
Hit the waive wire hard this week.  Need to upgrade the bench for the bye weeks.  Gotta look ahead.  Put in claims for WR  Amendola on St. Louis (huge last week),  RB Bush on Chicago, and TE Pita  from Baltimore.  If i get them I am going to drop WR Moore, RB Jennings, and TE Cook.  This useless trio had their chance with Team Gagan but you gotta produce to remain on the roster.  Simply put this reactive owner  
expects fantasy output from each member of the team.
Thinking ahead to week three Bradshaw is hurt so he will have to come out of the lineup.  Shonn Greene will move into the starting RB role.  The flex position ideally will be filled by Amendola from St. Louis if my waiver claim is successful.

NO FUN LEAGUE

I have heard all the talk about Wes Welker's role in New England.  The coach and owner are tough steadfast men, it is their way or the highway.  Welker wants money.  Who can blame him?  It's time for the Pats to give him a bigger role in the offense.  Hernandez is hurt and Edleman is no Welker.  Throw him the damm ball and let him produce.  Whatever is going on now is to the detriment of the offense.  If next year you don't want to pay him that's fine, let him walk.  Use your weapon.
Week one went unexpectedly smooth with the officials.  This week was a disaster.  The integrity of the game is in question.  Games are slow.  Players have no respect for these referees.  Have you noticed the scraps and players not letting up with some of their hits?  This is all over billion dollar owners pitching in a million to bring the regular officials back.  Come on.  Its an absurd situation, the scab officials look out of place and intimidated by the bright lights.  Yet again the owner and commissioner come off looking like buffoons with this.
On the subject of buffoonery the affidavit from Gregg Williams was well timed.  Funnily signed sealed and delivered days after a judged ruled in some manner way beyond my legalese against the player suspensions resulting from bounty gate.  Williams sure comes off like a heck of a fella on this one.  Be interesting to see when he gets hired again after throwing everyone under the bus.  Though tire marked Vilma will fight his fight and should be lauded for doing so.  The commissioner has come off like a dictator with way too much authority in all of this.  Why not let someone independent figure out punishment besides the commissioner?  All other pro leagues have a czar off crime and punishment and actual guidelines governing discipline.  The commissioner appears to make things up as he goes along in the interest of the NFL's bottom line.  His initial ruling was all about the setting a precedent, and appearing to do the right thing in the face of federal lawsuits pending against the NFL by former players with head injury issues. All I know is bounty gate will not be over for some time and it will get messier.  Player safety is important and bounties are deplorable.  It is very good that these issues have been brought to the forefront.  Unfortunately, the solutions offered thus far by the league have been monetarily influenced.

Early Returns

Pats lose.  Wow! What an ending.  The Patriots were dominated by the Cardinals defense all day yet had a shot to pull it out.  Ryan William's fumbles instead of just lying down on the field with a minute left.  Pats get the ball back,  Inexplicably they start draining clock with a minute left.  They could have gone for a closer field goal attempt or even a touchdown.  Then the field goal attempt is missed and they lose 20-18.  Unreal.  Shocking end to the game.  Robert Kraft's facial expression in the owners box was classic.

The Pats clearly didn't deserve to win this one.  Karma loss?  The offensive line was constantly beaten and as a result Brady had little time to throw.  Welker caught a few which was encouraging.  From what I saw the Pats defense kept the momentum going from week one and played well.  Seriously, losing to Kevin Kolb?

The Giants won a thriller 41-34.  Eli Manning was huge throwing for 510 yards.  The Giants again were the cardiac kids winning a thriller.
Philly shocked me by coming back and holding on to beat Baltimore despite the turnovers.

Team Gagan had a good set of early games.  \Vick threw two picks but passed for over 300 yards, threw for a td, and ran for a td.  NIcks was stellar, amassing 199 yards and a score on 10 catches.  MJD had a nondescript 60 rushing yards but caught a score.  Gronkowski caught 6 for 75 yards aand a score.  Bradshaw was hurt early in the Giants game, so a roster move in all likelihood will be coming this week.

Thinking I will need to add another RB this week.  Dropping Jennings.  Also thinking about releasing one of my wide receivers and adding a new one.  The Oakland duo of Moore and Heyward-Bey have been useless  on my bench to this point.  Would like to drop one of them.  LaFell on Carolina intrigues me.

Pregame

Agonizing over who to start at qb today.  Just found out Pierre Garcon is out for the Redskins, RG3's top target.  Decided to leave it up to a coin flip.  Tails.  Vick is getting the start today.

Great day of college football yesterday.  Watched the end of a few early games.  Ohio State escaped versus Cal, cannot believe the coverage on the winning pass to Devin Smith.  The ULM Warhawks almost pulled one out in  Auburn.  Too bad.  Beating SEC teams in consecutive weeks would have been unparalleled.  USC looked pathetic in getting absolutely manhandled by Stanford on both sides of the ball.  Shocked.  I can"t believe Stanford is that good without Luck.  My Notre Dame Irish also were impressive in rolling over Michigan State.  The defense was stout, especially the line and linebackers.  The offense with the young quarterback and Cierre Wood, while not overly impressive, is also taking shape.  Could this be the year the Irish turn it around and regain national relevance?  Kelly seems to be the man for the job.  We will see.

The upsets yesterday killed my picks.  I picked Michigan State, USC, Ole Miss, BYU, and Tennessee.  Brutal day.  On the season my picks are average.  I\ guess Tennessee is not back and I have no idea how Florida is picking up W's in foreign locales.  Gator Hater!

Week One pt2

Yep. I lost week one to GraySJ.  Bummed.  Lost by eight points.  Brutal.  Ashamed. Why did I make all those changes?  My game was the closest margin of victory in the league.  My leading scorer was the Jets defense.  Excited for more turnovers and scores from the Jets D and special teams but geez the boys didn’t perform.

                Michael Vick was horrendous, throwing far too many picks, and almost throwing another pick on the play before his winning touchdown pass.  Unbelievable.  He’s a veteran, right?  Meanwhile Robert Griffin, herein know as Bob, pulled a Newton.  Truly a great effort in his first NFL game, wow. 

This week Vick will be on the bench for me, (plays a stout Baltimore defense) and Bob will get the start.              

                Before week one I picked up Rashad Jennings to offset the Jones-Drew conundrum.  Jennings gets hurt and MJD ends up getting lots of carries and performing well for someone who just reported.  The unforeseeable!  That’s what this fantasy is all about I guess.  Shocking news alert!  MJD will start this week. 

                Starting Heyward-Bey over Shonn Greene was also a poor decision.  Greene was an above average performer and it appears McFadden will get most of the touches for the Raiders.  You guessed it.  Greene starts this week. 

                All in all many positives to be taken out last week. Gronkowski and Thomas looked good.  The point totals should rise for Team Gagan when a couple of things happen.  Everyone performs as expected.  Nicks and a few others who are a bit banged up recover.  And when the meddling coach/gm stops freaking out and

                Having giving my opinions on the Giants game in Part One I will now address my other favourite teams first game.  The Patriots looked strong versus the Titans.  Stevan Ridley was a revelation at running back.  A strong slashing runner Ridley amassed over a hundred yards.  It had been years since such a memorable performance by a Patriots runner.  The running game, when functioning well, makes the Pats almost unstoppable because of the receiving weapons Tom Brady has to play with.  However, I can’t help but wonder, thus cursing my team, if Brady’s best clutch performances are behind him.  Has he lost his edge?  That rare ability he had to will his team to victory on the biggest stage.  Is Eli Manning and recent playoff failures in his head?  Will it matter if they are?  Can the Patriots win without Brady at his apex?

                The Pats defense was uplifting to watch.  Last year in particular was a mess for them on that side of the ball.  Ugh.  Painful.  Sunday was an indication that the D is much improved.  Arrington and the secondary might finally seem to be coming of age.  The two top draft picks Jones and Hightower combined on a forced fumble and touchdown.  It was an amazing play lifting the spirits of Pats fans all over the globe.  The future seems bright for the defense. 

                It will be very interesting to see what the Pats do this year.  The AFC seems a bit week this year.  The Jets and the Peyton Manning led Broncos surprised in week one.  Houston and Baltimore seem like real threats to take the conference crown.  In the NFC the Niners took week one stomping on the Packers. 

                Week One brings so much anticipation and joy for the football fan.  I was glued to the tube for most of Sunday.  Catching the endings of the close early games was a treat.  The Lions despite winning seem to me like good picks to disappoint this year.  Expect an uproar in Eagle land if that type of performance continues.  Arizona could pile up some victories given the talent on that roster if they had someone inspiring to throw the ball.  Is Cam Newton destined for a sophomore slump? 

                Week One was a blast and Week Two is coming for us all!  

Week One pt1

WEEK ONE ROSTER MOVES AND GAME ONE OF THE SEASON     

Well.  There was some long term good news.  Maurice Jones Drew reported to camp.  I fretted for days over his absence and made some bold moves that will in all likelihood come back to bite me.  I picked up Rashad Jennings off waivers due to the Jones conundrum I was in.  Jennings should get plenty of touches in Week 1 and with a horrendous Gabbert playing quarterback for the Jags should produce.  I dumped Michael Bush in order to take on Jennings.  The move essentially is Bush v. Jennings.  I have since learned that Bush will be the Bears goal line back.  That means touchdowns. Damm.  I guess it will come down to injury replacement odds, Forte or Jones-Drew.  Missing the preseason and its injury risk will hopefully help MJD. 

I also changed my flex starter for the opener versus GraySJ.  Heyward-Bey is starting replacing Shonn Greene.  Definite coach bias with this one, I hate the Jets.  However, all of the Raider receivers seem to be banged up and Darrius seems to be healthy.  The Raiders and Carson Palmer want to air it out, face a poor Chargers D, this one should pay off.

The league is now all about passing so going with a wideout at the flex position makes sense.  My worries are the wide receivers on my opponents team for week one.  GraySJ has Fitzgerald, Jones, and Marshall.  I have Nicks, Thomas, and Heyward-Bey.  Yup.  No real comparison here.  Praying for a miracle here, Thomas and Heyward-Bey need to break out this year

NYG v. DAL Sept 5^th

Dallas won this one and deserved the victory.  Romo was impressive producing on throws from outside the pocket.  Ogletree and the lack of Giants depth in the secondary were the stories of the game.  Looks like Dallas has found its #3 receiver.  Bryant and Murray also had impressive season debuts for the Cowboys. 

The Giants as they do every year started out slow.  Shocking.  No one on the roster besides the front seven on defense impressed.  Victor Cruz dropped several balls.  Think celebrity has gotten to his head.  My two players were duds.  Hakeem Nicks caught four balls for thirty-eight yards.  He is still a bit nicked up but that doesn’t help me.  Bradshaw redeemed the night at the end with a 33yd scamper, a fist pump moment.  His touchdown was also great but he rushed for about eighty yards and was stymied for most of the night.  It was tough to watch but onto Sunday. 

The experience of watching a game with my fantasy players involved was noteworthy.  I am a Giants fan and they sputtered.  It was painful at times, especially with my fantasy players involved.  Divided attention became the theme of the night.  Rooting for your team v. rooting for individual players.  It was tough, my mind constantly wandered.  I felt guilty at times.  Was I giving the Giants enough focus?  As twitchy as the night became I enjoyed myself and hope for better results on the weekend. 

Team Gagan

Joining the fantasy football ranks seemed easy enough.  Pick players and watch games, easy street. Try something new, learn a trade, kiss some babies; maybe I’ll get Tom Brady.  Initially I had a swell of Belichekian confidence.  Then I really thought about it all.  Wow, am I doing this?   As I began to ruminate, a bad habit, my heart began to race.  My mind spun with the possibilities.  I became overwhelmed by the prospect of drafting via the internet.  Being a spurious decision, there was no preparation on my part.  Stat geeks probably had been going at it for months pouring over the inane and delicate numbers that determine fantasy value.  It had been 20 years since I had done anything fantasy related.  Baseball rotisserie back then was hard enough for me.  Way too much work with very little resources in the pre internet, pre sports dorks era.  The stone ages back then, I figured.  Just imagine fantasy now.  The anxiety was steady, too many variables, too many numbers, and too many players.  So I froze, fearing my own stupidity, poor key stroking, and the dreaded draft pick clock. I was scared, plain and simple. 

I found the out.  Hallelujah! Auto pick! Safety in computer driven madness, no guilt, second guessing myself, agonizing over Antonio or Santonio, it all seemed perfect.  Bring on the team. 

                Then the picks came in and Team Gagan was formed by ESPN Fantasy Football. 

STARTERS

QB: Mike Vick, PHI

Hmm, can pass and run. Seems ok! Except he gets hurt often, very often, in Kevlar vest I trust.

RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC 

Really! Auto pick takes the guy #5 overall.  He’s holding out, Khan isn’t folding.  Dammit, hating the auto pick.  My Brady dream crushed.  FML!

RB: Amad Bradshaw, NYG    

Not ideal but a Giant fan, so I’m happy. 

WR: Hakeem Nicks, NYG

Another Giant!  Things are looking good. 

WR: Demaryius Thomas, DEN

Huh, hope this works out.  Decker is more Manning’s style.  Praying for a breakout year and that Peyton can throw the long ball.

TE: Rob Gronkowski, NE

Brilliant auto pick!  The Pats are my other team.  A touchdown machine. 

FLEX: Shonn Greene, NYJ

Yuck a Jet!  Pedestrian back.  Should be productive given the Jets horrendous aerial attack. 

D/ST: JETS

My gawd I hate the Jets but I have to admit this is a good pick. 

K: Rob Bironas, TEN

Kicker!  Woot!

BENCH

RB: Michael Bush, CHI

Whatever, they got Forte. 

RB: Donald Brown, IND

Bad team, flashes of something?

WR: Darrius Heyward-Bey, OAK

Think this one depends on Carson Palmer’s season. 

WR: Denarius Moore, OAK

Umm, I have two Raider receivers and their first names rhyme, must mean something. 

TE: Jared Cook, TEN

Who? What? I’ve never heard of him.  Thanks auto-pick.

QB: Andrew Luck, IND

Insurance for the injury prone Vick.  Loving the auto-pick.

QB:  Robert Griffin, WAS

See above.  Both star in the making rookie quarterbacks on my team.  Truly blessed, wish more than one QB could start games.  Tough decisions ahead, when Vick scrambles out of the Kevlar.