Thursday Lunch: Fantasy Football Week 4

By Nick Gallaudet

It is week 4, and now things are getting interesting.  Byes are going to shake up lineups, and everyone should be getting a sense of what their team looks like.  Now is a key time to assess your strengths and weaknesses and fill in your roster accordingly before the trade deadline passes.  Before we get to the games, the teams with byes this week are Dallas, Minnesota, Kansas City, and Tampa Bay, so here are my top 3 bye week replacements at each position:

QB: Bruce Gradkowski OAK, Sam Bradford STL, QB Chad Henne MIA

RB: RB Kenneth Darby STL, RB Justin Forsett, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis

WR: Darrius Heyward-Bey OAK, Jeremy Maclin PHI, Mario Manningham NYG

WAIVER WATCH

QB Ryan Fitzpatrick BUF:  With the release of Trent Edwards, the team truly is his and he had a decent showing last week refusing to give up in a high scoring loss to the Patriots.  If you had Kevin Kolb or David Garrard as your QB, Fitzpatrick is a decent option (but Bruce Gradkowski is a better one)

RB Kenneth Darby STL: Steven Jackson went down last week with a groin injury and Darby filled in nicely.  He is going against a stout Seattle run defense this week, but he is still worth a look.

WR Darrius Heyward-Bey OAK: He may already be owned in your league, but if he’s not, he is definitely worth picking up as he has clearly matured and is a solid fantasy option with Gradkowski throwing the ball.

Now to this week’s slate of games…

Wednesday Lunch: Wake Me Up When September Ends

By Dylan Davis
 
Don’t get me wrong; this was a great month for college football. There were some incredible games (Michigan State/Notre Dame, Boise State/Virginia Tech, Michigan/Notre Dame to name a few), some breakout performers (Denard Robinson, Kenjon Barner, Justin Blackmon, etc…) and some shakeups in the polls. With that being said, not much was done to clarify the race for…pretty much anything. The national title race hasn’t gotten much clearer as the weeks have progressed and new teams have been added while some beginning of the year favorites have fallen to the wayside. The Heisman race lost its leader in Mark Ingram before the season started and only Denard Robinson has impressed enough so far this year. Robinson has gotten injured this year and staying healthy may be a struggle, so even he may drop out some point. Ingram has crept back into the discussion with two stellar performances, but he may have missed too much time to win the award.
 
Even within the conferences, there are no clear favorites except for Boise in the WAC. Parity is great for sports, but having favorites and upsets are even better in the long run, and that’s why I’m ready for October. October looks to clarify a number of conference races and should shake out the contenders from the pretenders before the stretch run begins in November. There are a number of marquee matchups this month, and this upcoming week may be the most loaded. Let’s jump in.

Tuesday Lunch: Week 3 – Fortune Favors the BOLDin

By Will Robinson
 
Another week in the books, another TSL NFL post. Let’s get to it!

Monday Lunch: Who is the MLS Rookie of the Year?

By Evan Ream
 
Obviously, with the season not over, it is impossible to choose a Rookie of the Year right now, but I believe we have at least narrowed it down to three main candidates. This year’s rookie class has had some really strong candidates that could have possibly won the award in years past such as Sean Johnson, Tony Tchani, Michael Stephens, Teal Bunbury, and Zach Schilawski just to name a few. This being said, the play of Danny Mwanga, Andy Najar, and Tim Ream has stood far and away above the rest of the rookies. Let’s take an in depth look to see which one deserves it.

Friday Lunch – Week 3 NFL Picks

By The SACK Lunch Staff

Last Week’s/Current Year’s Record:
Dylan:   8-8
Evan:    6-10
Nick:    11-5
Will:     10-6

	TEN at NYG	PIT at TB	CIN at CAR	CLE at BAL	DAL at HOU	SF at KC	DET at MIN	BUF at NE
Dylan	TEN	PIT	CIN	BAL	DAL	KC	DET	NE
Evan	NYG	PIT	CIN	BAL	HOU	SF	DET	NE
Nick	NYG	PIT	CIN	BAL	HOU	SF	MIN	NE
Will	NYG	PIT	CIN	BAL	HOU	SF	DET	NE

	ATL at NO	WAS at STL	PHI at JAX	OAK at ARI	SD at SEA	IND at DEN	NYJ at MIA	GB at CHI
Dylan	ATL	WAS	JAX	OAK	SD	IND	NYJ	CHI
Evan	NO	WAS	PHI	ARI	SD	IND	MIA	GB
Nick	NO	WAS	PHI	OAK	SD	IND	NYJ	CHI
Will	NO	WAS	PHI	OAK	SD	DEN	MIA	GB

Thursday Lunch: Fantasy Football – Week 3

By Nick Gallaudet
 
After a crazy week 1, things have returned to normal a bit, and we are starting to get a feel for how this season is going to shape up. I just wanted to shout out to fellow Sack Lunch writer Evan who ignored my advice last week and kept Jahvid Best on the bench. Hopefully, he’ll listen this week.

Wednesday Lunch: They did WHAT???

By Dylan Davis

Unpredictable. Ridiculous. Amazing. All of these words describe something that happened this past weekend. No, it’s not about the Cowboys losing yet again as the favorite (although that’s also true). No, it’s not the Raiders recent draft history (JaMarcus Russell? Darius Heyward-Bey? A kicker in the first round?). It’s not even the fact that M. Night Shyamalan keeps making movies (How bad does Devil look?). Those words all describe the most recent weekend of college football. Week 2 was hyped up as potentially the most competitive and action-packed weekend of the year, but although it wasn’t terrible, most of the games were letdowns. Week 3 was almost the exact opposite; there was only one game between ranked teams (Arizona vs. Iowa) and that started at 10:30 pm on the East Coast. Then the games started and upsets, classics, and the Michigan State vs. Notre Dame game happened. I had to put that game in a completely different category because…actually, I’ll get to that in a second. Let’s dive right in.

Tuesday Lunch: NFL Week 2 was the BEST

By Will Robinson
 
Before I get to the usual thing, I would like to say a few words on Kenny McKinley. It’s always said when someone dies at such a young age, especially when they have so much to contribute on and off the field. He was, putting it lightly, a standout while in Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks program, and was a fifth round pick for Denver in 2009. He never made a catch in the regular season, and was on the injured reserve the end of last year and for the 2010 season. He was a special teamer, though. He is the third Bronco to die since 2007 (Darrent Williams – murdered and Damien Nash – cardiac arrest). It’s even sadder that McKinley allegedly killed himself, which leads me to believe that he may have been in a poor mental state. The last statement was pure speculation and I have no evidence to support an idea. Until we know more, keep him and his family in your thoughts and, if it’s your thing, your prayers. RIP #11.
 
Week 2 is done, and I am a lot happier about how this week turned out. Not only did my Broncos win, we now have a better look at certain teams. Even though there are 15 weeks to go, the contenders and pretenders are becoming more established.

Monday Lunch: Wheeling and Dealing in MLS

By Evan Ream

Yes, that’s right; there has been some wheeling and dealing right before the trade deadline this year. Three pretty big deals were made last week, two of which made a great deal of sense for both teams and one that I am not sure about. So in chronological order, let's take a look at each deal.

Friday Lunch Special: Week 2 NFL Picks

By TSL Staff

 

Every Friday (except last week – we dropped the ball), we will provide picks for the upcoming NFL week. Here are our picks for this week:

 

	PIT at TENN	MIA at MINN	ARI at ATL	BAL at CIN	KC at CLE	CHI at DAL	PHI at DET	BUF at GB
Dylan	TENN	MIA	ATL	CIN	CLE	DAL	PHI	GB
Evan	TENN	MINN	ATL	BAL	KC	DAL	DET	GB
Nick	TENN	MIA	ATL	BAL	KC	DAL	PHI	GB
Will	TENN	MINN	ATL	BAL	KC	DAL	PHI	GB

	TB at CAR	SEA at DEN	STL at OAK	HOU at WAS	NE at NYJ	JAX at SD	NYG at IND	NO at SF
Dylan	TB	DEN	TIE*	WAS	NE	JAX	IND	SF
Evan	CAR	SEA	OAK	HOU	NE	JAX	IND	NO
Nick	CAR	DEN	STL	HOU	NYJ	SD	IND	NO
Will	CAR	DEN	OAK	HOU	NE	SD	IND	NO

 

*Dylan is a wuss for not picking a team in this game and decided it would be a tie.

Friday Lunch: MLS Game Report!!!

By The SACK Lunch Staff (except Nick)

On Wednesday, The SACK Lunch team made history, as they attended their first MLS match together. The voyage began in Davis, California at 3:45 PM PDT, 15 minutes late, because Evan was busy taking the Browns to the Super Bowl. Evan (the driver), Will (the navigator), Dylan (the hopper), and Kyle (the intern) traveled to the legendary Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, California to see the San Jose Earthquakes TAKE ON the Philadelphia Union.

Thursday Lunch: Fantasy Football – Week 2

Week 1 is in the books, boys and girls. Hopefully, you are 1-0 and on your way to a title, but if you’re like me and played against Arian Foster, don’t give up: It’s only week 1. Last week was the most confusing week 1 in years. Teams looked slow and ill-prepared (makes you wonder what the preseason is for). It was hard to gauge whether or not those were the teams we can expect to see for the rest of the season, but that’s why I'm here. Scoring was a little down last week, so here’s to some 38-35 games this week.

Wednesday Lunch: Un-ACC-eptable week for the East

By Dylan Davis

Week 2 looked to be one of the best and most exciting weeks of the year for college football, but many of the marquee games were disappointments. With that being said, some of the less hyped games were scintillating and a few teams made 180-degree turns from a week ago. I’ll get more in depth below, so let’s dive right in.

Tuesday Lunch: Getting a HOLD On Week 1

By Will Robinson

Finally! The first week of NFL action is in the books. There were plenty of noteworthy things from the weekend, but these are my Quick-Hit Thoughts about action from the weekend. (PS: Check out my performance on the Brett and Chuck Power Hour on Tuesday, September 14th).

Monday Lunch: Best MLS Strike Tandems

By Evan Ream
 
Ever since DC United and the New England Revolution began using a 4-4-2 a few years ago, every team in MLS has used this 4-4-2 formation as their primary formation. Because every team uses the 4-4-2, there is less of an emphasis on tactics in MLS and conversely individual matchups have become more important than ever before. Of these individual battles, it seems as if the battle between the forwards on one team and the central defenders on the other would be the most important. It should come as no surprise then that the team with the most points in the league (LA Galaxy) has the most productive forward tandem (Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan) while the team with the fewest points in the league (DC United) has the least productive forward tandem (Danny Allsopp and Pablo Hernandez). However, if there is anything I have learned during my years as a soccer spectator and player, it’s that nothing in this sport is ever this black and white. Therefore, I have decided to look beyond the numbers and rate the strike forces in MLS from 1-16 in order to see which teams are best equipped for the playoffs by winning these individual matchups. It should be noted that the two forwards I listed for each team would be the two players that would play in any must win situation if the coach of the particular team fielded his first choice lineup.
 
In my mind, all the forward partnerships are spread into four different tiers of skill, which are:
 
Terrible: No matter how good your team is, you cannot win with these players. These players are so bad that their team (SPOILERS) may or may not tie the record for most times being shut out in a season with six games left
 
Average: There are many different reasons for being in the average column. The team could have one good player and one useless one, as is the case for most of these. The players could have injury issues. The players could be young. Lastly, the players could simply just not be that good.
 
Quality Starters: These players may not be the best in the league, but if you have a strong overall team, they can lead you to a championship. They might also be younger players knocking on the door of the next tier.
 
Game Breakers: These players are the strength of the team. These players would start on almost any if not any team in the league and produce for that team. These well-balanced players can both score and set up goals.

Friday Lunch Special: Real Salt Lake Will Win the Supporter’s Shield

By Evan Ream

Not many teams take much stock in winning the Supporter’s Shield in MLS each year. That is why after reading multiple tweets about the importance of this trophy from Real Salt Lake’s Chris Wingert and Kyle Beckerman, I really thought they would be the ones to win it... until Robbie Findley missed that PK last night and RSL gave away 2 points. Salt Lake was the only team remaining in contention for the Supporter’s Shield that had the ability, depth, and most of all, a desire to win it for sure. With that game in the books and countless Salt Lake fans left disappointed, I believe it is time to answer the question of “who will win the Supporter’s Shield this year?” There seem to be just five contenders left in Salt Lake, Los Angeles, Columbus, and FC Dallas. New York is close, but it looks to be just out of contention… so there’s really only four. As of 9/10, the standings look like this:

Team	GP	PTS	W	L	D	GD
LA	23	44	13	5	5	+16
Columbus	23	44	13	5	5	+12
RSL	24	44	12	4	7	+21
FC Dallas	22	40	10	2	10	+12

This looks to be one of the closest races ever in MLS. All four of these teams are virtually assured of playoff spots, so I am not going to break down their playoff chances, but rather their chances of winning the Supporter’s Shield based on the quality of each team’s squad as well as their remaining schedule and the obvious motivational factors.

Thursday Late Lunch: Week 1 in Review

Yes, I’m back. Those of you who have been stumbling around in the wilderness lost without my college football knowledge and insight, have no fear, I’m back to stay. Although if you’ve been in the wilderness for the past couple months you probably didn’t have access to the Internet, but I digress. I am here to guide you through this college season that promises to be one of the most wide open, not to mention awesome, in recent memory. For the first time in a couple years there is no clear cut Heisman candidate that is healthy and every team near the top of the polls has its flaws. The first week showed that any team can lose at any time and numerous players distinguished themselves. Can they keep up there production for the entire year? Or did a cupcake opponent make a single player, or an entire team, look great? Lets dive right in.

Thursday Lunch: NFL Preview

By Will Robinson

Since the NFL season is nearly upon us, and the blog has not been graced with my writing acumen, and I am really bored with nothing to do after summer school ended, I will begin my previews of THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. Please note that I do not have any inside information and most of this is pure speculation and extrapolation based on who a team lost, signed, drafted and whatnot. Or, you can believe I possess all of the information in the world about the NFL and I hopped in my DeLorean to see what would happen. Your call. Without further ado, the following is how I believe the AFC will turn out next year.

Wednesday Lunch: Fantasy Football Preview

It’s finally here, boys and girls. Break out the chips and the queso dip: It’s football season. Most importantly, though, it’s fantasy football season, which means there is money to be made, and hopefully my insight will help you win your Super Bowl and enough cash to make it rain Pacman style. Now, I’m no Matthew Berry, but I have been playing fantasy football for 11 years, so I have learned a thing or two along the way. I know there are a billion different leagues out there, and they all seem to have a different scoring system, and I’m not going to pretend I can guess stats from week to week, so I’m going to evaluate the talent in each game, and tell you who I think is poised to have a big game, or who you should stay away from.  Each week, I will go through the games individually and give you my expert opinion on each matchup. After each matchup I will give you the guys I like a lot and guys I want to stay away from with my start ‘em and sit ‘em, so without further ado, let’s get started.

Before we get to the matchups, a couple basic strategies and tips I use in my leagues.

1. Defenses are expendable. If there is a free agent on the waiver wire that you really want, saving a spot for your backup defense is silly.  Matchups are key for defenses, and sometimes it is worth it to go week to week and start the defense playing against the Browns. I won a Super Bowl 2 years ago by starting the defense that matched up against the Raiders 80% of the weeks. I know Revis just signed and Rexy is making Super Bowl promises, but the Jets will not lead the league in defensive points every week.
2. Kickers don’t matter. You can treat them the same way you use defenses. It’s nearly impossible to predict when a kicker is going to have a big game, so my philosophy is start the kicker whose team is going to score the most points. 

Now to the games:

Tuesday Lunch: Ranking the MLS Franchises

By Evan Ream


Hey guys, I know that it has been a while since my (or anyone's) last post, but now that at least Will is posting again I will try to be doing this more regularly. Dylan is dead to us (not really but the last time he wrote, DC United was in playoff contention). Today's post is going to be a little bit different; I am going to rank the MLS franchises from 1-16 in terms of historical performance. Before you read my rankings, you should know a few things. To adequately rank each franchise in each facet, I split the rankings into four different categories and then ranked them overall based on how they did in each category. The four categories are as follows: Trophy Ranking, Fan Support, Stadium Situation, and Team Management. I have given each team a ranking from 1-16 in each category and then I added up all the numbers and the team with the lowest score was designated the best franchise in MLS (according to me). It should be noted before you read the descriptions of each category that the Trophy Ranking category is doubly weighted, because let's be honest, winning matters the most. I have decided not to include either of the franchises that folded (the Miami Fusion and Tampa Bay Mutiny).