As always here’s guest blogger Chris Long with this weeks hits and misses from theLGL’s fantasy football league, Necessary Roughness…
Looking back on the draft, who would have thought that so many high picks would be so disappointing so soon. Steve Slaton, Matt Forte, Maurice-Jones Drew, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Steven Jackson and the list goes on. Them’s the breaks when it comes to fantasy, but the real fun lies ahead. Who will bounce back? When do you give up on a guy and try to make a trade? Would you really consider dropping your first or second round pick for a guy you never heard of before the season started? These are all things that teams will consider going forward. For Luca Brasi’s Fish Co. and JF, panic might already be setting in after 0-3 starts. Mox’s Coyotes and Sniz & Fondue remain undefeated, but with bye weeks starting next week anything can happen. Don’t forget to set your line-ups for total domination, anything less would be uncivilized.
Play of the Week – Greg Lewis – Brett Favre does it again. Or does he? While the announcers were screaming “Favre did it!” I couldn’t help but feel for ol’ Greg Lewis. Last time I checked a completed pass involved two people. Granted Favre created some space and made a good throw, Greg went up and made an insane catch with :02 seconds left in the game to remind the 49ers’ fans what losing is like. I bet if you look back on some of Favre’s “Great Comebacks” there were a lot of little guys like Greg Lewis who did more than their fair share of the heavy lifting.
Player of the Week – Maurice Jones-Drew – 119 yards rushing/3 TD’s & 4 catches/28 yards – For those of you who drafted the little bowling ball out of UCLA, it only took 3 weeks to get your money’s worth. Jones-Drew had his way against Houston on Sunday racking up 119 yards on 23 carries. More importantly, he was able to reach the end zone as often as Mr. Brady from the Brady Bunch had sex. The dad on that show was gay right? Da Bidness (Leo) took full advantage of MJD’s big day, getting his 2nd win and a ton of points to go along with it.
Matchup of the Week – Sadly for some, this week featured mostly blow-outs and easy wins. Instead of highlighting a matchup this week let’s look ahead to Irie Feeling (Carlo) vs. Sniz & Fondue (Mike) next week. Irie Feeling (2-1) riding a 2 game winning streak, looks to knock of one of the top dogs. With both teams slated to score around 110 points, this matchup could come down to Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Longwell on Monday night. And oh yeah, Favre will be playing that one team he used to play for so there’s that.
Top scoring team – Da Bidness (144.52 fantasy points) – This won’t be the last time that the highest scoring team of the week had the highest individual performer as well. Da Bidness (Leo) rode a strong day from Maurice Jones-Drew (36.70 points) and the sneaky good play of Kevin Walter (23.70 points) to a Week 3 win over throwslikeagirl (Carol).
Surprise Performer – (Santana Moss – 33.80 fantasy points) – Don’t let anyone tell you that there aren’t some points to be had from the dreadful Washington offense. Playing from behind, the Redskins aired it out to Moss, who accumulated 178 yards receiving and 1 TD. After posting a total of 7 points through two weeks, the old man matched a career high in receptions Sunday in a losing effort against Detroit.
Best player on the bench – Desean Jackson (The House Guests) – (26.90 fantasy points) – It’s always fun to see one of your key players listed as questionable on Saturday night. In my infinite wisdom I decided to bench Desean for the sexy play of the week Mario Manningham. Poor choice in retrospect as Mr. Jackson went wild on the shoddy Chiefs defense. I felt like that guy in the Snickers commercial that spelled Chiefs, “Chefs.” You can’t go back, just accept your mistake and move on.
Worst play of the week – Ted Ginn (JF) – Another “sexy” play after he had a huge game last week. Ginn rewarded his loyal owners with a fat 0.00 points. Can’t fault the play, but you gotta feel Julie’s pain when you see that she had Devin Hester on the bench with 18.60 points. Picking up Nate Burleson should help increase her insanity as he adds another hit or miss dimension to her lineup.
Beer of the week – Lost Coast Great White – Moving dominated my weekend causing me to miss all the college games on Saturday and most of the games on Sunday. Every so often I’d go to my happy place and imagine myself on the couch drinking one of these ice-cold creations from beautiful Humboldt County. I know what you’re thinking, snobby micro-brew, Wrong. Ralphs carries it. So stop crying and go drink some delicious NorCal beer.
Extra Point – This week’s extra point is devoted to the hapless Lions and their “stunning achievement.” Winning their first game since December 23, 2007, the Lions stopped their 19-game losing streak and helped remove some of those shameful paper bags that littered the heads of so many Detroit fans. I wouldn’t necessarily say things are looking up for the Lions, but at least they won’t have to endure another historically bad season like last year. Let’s hope that their biggest fan has more to look forward to in the future. At least they still have the Thanksgiving game!
In honor of the Lions win, and more importantly the Redskins loss, a quote from our namesake that seems quite fitting: Football player – “Welcome to football” Lucy Draper (Kathy Ireland) – “Welcome to foot… BALL!” A swift kick to the nuts to cap off the weekend.