Fantasy Fives: All Day Dominates, Austin is Average

Fantasy Aces

1. Adrian Peterson – All Day picked up his aging quarterback and willed the Vikings to their first win of the season against the Lions, 24-10. Peterson finished the afternoon with 190 yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns. With Brett Favre’s early struggles, Peterson has kept the Vikings offense in games — and his fantasy owners happy.

2. Michael Vick – You think Andy Reid made the right decision? Vick validated his head coach’s somewhat controversial decision in a big way, scorching the Jacksonville defense for 291 passing yards, 30 rushing yards and four total touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing). It all sets up for a showdown this week against Donovan McNabb and the Redskins in Philly.

3. Anquan Boldin – Boldin’s home debut in Charm City was a beauty. The Ravens’ prized free agent caught eight balls for 142 yards and three touchdowns as Baltimore bounced Cleveland 24-17. The good news is it looks like the Ravens offense has finally come alive. The bad news is a visit to Pittsburgh awaits in Week 4.

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Week 3 NFL Preview – Showdown in the Superdome

Last week we learned a lot about quite a few teams around the league.  That said, the jury is still out on some teams including Dallas, Minnesota, Kansas City, Chicago and Tampa Bay.  Week 3 should provide some early separation and answer questions on the teams mentioned above. Let’s take a look at our top three games in Week 3:

Atlanta @ New Orleans

The Falcons are coming off a dominating performance against the Cardinals.  Jason Snelling filled in for a dinged up Michael Turner (who will be back this week) and ran all over Arizona’s defense.  Matt Ryan also got himself going with a pretty good afternoon.  The Falcons defense is one thing we don’t know much about.  Yes they shutdown Pittsburgh and Arizona, but how good are those two offenses to begin with?  They will really have to show up to hold the Saints in check on Sunday.

The Saints begin the season 2-0 as they escaped San Francisco with a last second victory.  The victory proved costly as New Orleans lost Reggie Bush for six weeks with a broken fibula.  The Saints so far do not look like the team they were last year, yet they still are 2-0.  To truly return to form, Sean Payton needs to get Drew Brees going.  Throw, throw and throw the ball until you are inside the 10 yard line and the Saints offense can return to its 2009-10 form. 

Pick: Falcons 27 Saints 24

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Week 4 College Football Preview

There should be plenty of great match-ups in Week 4 of the college football season, but the three biggest games of the week include a showdown in Fayetteville, an intriguing match-up in South Bend and the Battle on the Blue Turf.

#1 Alabama @ #13 Arkansas

This is the week where the #1 team in the nation will face its first real test of the season. Alabama has rolled through its first three games but will now face their first true road test against an SEC foe.  Mark Ingram showed last week he is back to 100%, and combined with Trent Richardson they should be able to pound the ball straight down the Razorbacks’ throat.  Don’t be surprised if the Tide sprinkle in some play action early to catch Arkansas up on the line. 

The Razorbacks escaped Athens last week with a TD pass from Ryan Mallett with 15 seconds remaining.   Is Bobby Petrino’s offense finally hitting its stride for the Razorbacks?  He does finally have the talent to make enough plays, but can they do it against the stout Tide defense?  It should be a very interesting test for both teams. 

Pick: Alabama 34 Arkansas 28

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Eagles Give the Ball to Vick, But for How Long?

Despite Kevin Kolb being cleared to play, Andy Reid has chosen to stick with Michael Vick at quarterback.  It is an interesting move to say the least.  It came as a shock to almost everyone, but many see it as the right move for the Eagles.  Philadelphia committed money to Kolb in the offseason and traded McNabb so Kolb could be their guy, so why did Reid make this decision?

Of course Andy Reid is the only one who knows, but if I were the coach or GM, I’d be doing it for one reason: to trade Vick. Vick is in the last year of his contract and the NFL trade deadline is Week 6. The Eagles go to Jacksonville this week and then have Washington at home.  Those two teams have not played great defense through the first two weeks.  This will give Vick an opportunity to shine for quarterback-needy teams.  … Continue Reading

Fantasy Fives: Waiver Wire Pick-ups for Week 3

1. Jason Snelling – We mentioned Snelling as a top fantasy performer in Week 2 so it’s a given that he’s our #1 waiver wire pick-up going into Week 3. Michael Turner is expected to be fine for this week’s huge showdown with the Saints, but the Falcons are going to need as much firepower as possible to win in New Orleans. I like Snelling as a strong flex play this week and security for Turner moving forward.

2. Mike Tolbert – Tolbert filled in admirably for rookie Ryan Mathews (ankle), rushing 16 times for 82 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-13 win over the Jags. While it is believed that Mathews will be ready to go against the Seahawks in Week 3, Tolbert is a must handcuff for Mathews owners and will continue to receive red zone carries.

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Week 3 College Football Rewind and New Top 15

Week 3 didn’t present any of the big name match-ups like Week 2 did, but the games were a lot more fun to watch this week.  The three games we told you to keep an eye on were three of the better games of the weekend and we went 3-0 picking the straight up winners.  If you followed the way we predicted the scores you would have hit the Air Force game +17 ½ and the Arizona game -2.  You also would have likely hit UMASS, however I never actually saw a line on that game. 

A team that was new to our top 15 last week, the Houston Cougars lost in more ways than one against UCLA.  During the game they lost their Heisman trophy candidate Case Keenum to a torn ACL and then also lost their backup QB for the rest of the season.  If any of you had the pleasure of watching Keenum over the years, you know what a talent he is.  Hopefully he gets a chance at the next level as he is more than capable.  And with that, we now move onto our new BumpAndRun.com Top 15:

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Fantasy Fives: Best is Best, Favre Flops in Week 2

Fantasy Aces

1. Jahvid Best – The Lions may have lost to the Eagles 35-32, but Jahvid Best really was the best on Sunday. The rookie running back from Cal ended the day with 78 yards rushing, 154 yards receiving and three total touchdowns – that’s 40 fantasy points, folks. Best is elevating himself to RB1 status and it’s only Week 2. He has a tough match-up next week against Minnesota, but most thought that Philly’s defense was going to present problems. Think again.

2. Jason Snelling – Michael Turner goes down and Jason Snelling picks up right where he left off last season – and then some. Snelling shredded Arizona’s defense for 186 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns as the Falcons embarrassed the Cardinals 41-7. Back to Turner – he left the game with a groin injury but is expected to be OK.  Still, there’s no excuse not to have Snelling on your fantasy roster. He’s a must handcuff for Turner owners and should be looked at as a possible flex play, even when Turner’s healthy.

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NFL Hat Trick Preview – Week 2

You never know what to expect when the NFL season begins, that’s why it is hard to say how much we actually learned from Week 1.  What exactly did we learn? Oakland stinks, Mark Sanchez stinks, the NFC West and AFC West are wide open and injuries are already having an impact on the season.  For our three big games from Week 1, we went 3-0.  Now it’s onto Week 2:

Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee (1:00PM, CBS)

The Steelers escaped Week 1 with an overtime victory over the Falcons.  Two things that were apparent from that game: the Steelers D is back with Troy Polamalu on the field and the offense with Dennis Dixon at QB looks really bad.  The Steelers will have to get Rashard Mendenhall going early so they can control the clock.  In order to get the passing game rolling, offensive coordinator Bruce Arians should call some roll-out run/pass options for Dixon to try and get him some early confidence.  The Steelers need to get more than field goals this week because the Tennessee offense looks like it’s pretty legit.

The Titans looked dominant in Week 1 but it’s hard to say how much of that was them or the Raiders.  This is the week we should learn more about Tennessee.  They obviously have the best running back in the league — Chris Johnson can take it to the house any time he touches it.  Vince Young appears to have matured and with Nate Washington and Kenny Britt on the outside, the passing game has potential.  Can the Steelers contain CJ and VY?

Pick: Tennessee 24 Pittsburgh 20

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Week 3 College Football Preview

The schedule this week doesn’t have as many big games as last week as teams either begin conference play or have their one last warm-up.  Last week we went 1-2, but sit at 4-2 on the season.  Hopefully we bounce back this week with another 3-0 week.  And now onto the games:

Air Force vs. #7 Oklahoma (Saturday, 3:30)

This could be the game of the weekend or it could be another blowout for the Sooners.  Oklahoma comes in riding high after its dominating performance against Florida St.  Their offense was unstoppable and their defense pressured Christian Ponder all afternoon long.  Oklahoma is led by sophomore QB Landry Jones and senior RB DeMarco Murray.

Air Force will provide Oklahoma with a much different look that Florida St. did.  The Falcons lead the country in rushing through two games at 423 yards per game and are sixth in scoring at 50.0 points per game.  If the Falcons ground game, led by Asher Clark and Jared Tew, can control the clock they can keep themselves in the game. 

Pick: Oklahoma 38 Air Force 24

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Fantasy Fives: Waiver Wire Pick-ups

Brandon Jackson - The season-ending ankle injury to Ryan Grant thrusts Jackson into the spotlight as the Packers’ new featured back. A tough blow for Grant owners, but Jackson should put up comparable numbers in an offense that is clearly centered around Aaron Rodgers and the passing game. Jackson should be a decent RB2/flex play moving forward.

Michael Vick - Kevin Kolb owners, pay attention. Vick stepped in for the concussed Kolb Sunday and looked like the superstar he was before being his off-the-field issues. Head coach Andy Reid has already made it clear that Kolb will be the starter once he’s healthy, but what happens if Vick dazzles this week in a favorable match-up against the Detroit Lions? At worst, Vick is a must-start in Week 2 as Kolb isn’t even slated to practice until Friday. But something tells me that Vick may not let Reid put him back on the bench.

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