Week 5 College Football Rewind and New Top 15

Through five weeks our record here with the games we have previewed is 12-3, add on the four games I added at the end of this week and we hit 16-3.  Yes, I am gloating. 

A few observations from this weekend’s games: Alabama is the only team worth talking about in the SEC.  Ohio St. isn’t going to go undefeated and that’s because they aren’t as good as people think, not because the Big 10 is very good.  Oregon’s offense is the most electric in the country, but their defense can be exposed.  Va. Tech is bouncing back from the early season losses, but has yet to play a complete game.  

And now onto the new BumpAndRun.com Top 15 as there has been some movement:

… Continue Reading

Fantasy Fives: L.T. Runs Wild, Eagles’ Receivers Grounded

Fantasy Aces

1. LaDainian Tomlinson – Enjoying a bit of a renaissance with the Jets, Tomlinson ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns against the hapless Bills. L.T. has emerged as NYJ’s lead back and will continue to benefit from the much improved play of quarterback Mark Sanchez. He remains a must-start until further notice.

2. Terrell Owens – The T.O. Show made an appearance in Cleveland Sunday afternoon, albeit in a losing effort. Owens brought some life to the Bengal offense, exploding for 222 receiving yards and a touchdown, but the Browns still held on to win 23-20. A nice surprise for Owens owners, but don’t get used to it every week – there’s two diva wide receivers to satisfy in Cincy, remember?

3. Kyle Orton – The NFL’s top ranked passing offense (yes, you read correctly) put up another gem in a come-from-behind victory in Tennessee. Kyle Orton finished the day with 341 passing yards and two touchdowns, including the 6-yard game winner to Correll Buckhalter. Orton has been sneaky good this season and should be considered a fringe QB1 moving forward.

… Continue Reading

Early Ins/Outs

RB Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints - OUT

Expect Ladell Betts to start and Chris Ivory to get carries against the Panthers this afternoon.

RB Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams - IN

Looks like he’s going to give it a go but don’t be surprised if Kenneth Darby takes on some of the load if the groin tightens up.

RB Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens - IN

It was going to be tough sledding against the Steelers, even if healthy – still a must-start.

RB Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions - IN

Turf toe injury won’t keep him out against the Pack. Not sure what to expect but Best is worth the risk.

Week 4 NFL Preview – McNabb Returns to Philly

We enter this week with some key early season divisional battles that could go a long way in determining what teams are fighting for playoff berths at the end of the season. Let’s take a look at three divisional games in Week 4:

Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams

The Seahawks head into St. Louis looking to create some early separation in the NFC West and make it essentially a two team race for the division.  Seattle has been great in their two games at home this season but when they went on the road to Denver it seemed like a different team was playing.  That has basically been a theme over the last few seasons for Seattle; however they have dominated the matchup with the Rams both home and away.  Look for Matt Hasselbeck to have a big day connecting with his young wide receivers Golden Tate and Mike Williams and tight end John Carlson.

The Rams enter the game after easily handling the Redskins for their first win of the season.   They did it mostly without Steven Jackson who left the game in the first half.  Jackson remains questionable for this week’s contest.  Sam Bradford settled into his job last week. He made throws when he needed to and seems to be building a good connection with Mark Clayton.  If Bradford can continue to slow the game down in his head he could be a very special quarterback.

Pick: Seattle 27 St. Louis 24

… Continue Reading

BumpAndRun.com Play Sheet – Week 4

Sign-up for your FREE Play Sheet and get fantasy rankings, weekly picks and survivor pool solutions on one printable page. It’s sent straight to your inbox every week during football season.
 
As you prepare your fantasy line-up, finalize your weekly picks or decide which team to select in your survivor pool, BumpAndRun.com will serve as your “second opinion.” Check back this weekend as the injury status of your fantasy players may change.

Click Here to Download Your Week 4 Play Sheet!

Week 5 College Football Preview

Conference play begins in full force this weekend with many critical matchups.  The top teams around the country will begin to suffer defeats and the chase for the BCS title game will become clearer as each week passes.  Let’s take a look at three of the top games in Week 5:

Texas A&M @ Oklahoma St. (Thursday, ESPN, 7:30)

Two of the top 12 scoring teams in the nation will do battle Thursday night in Stillwater.  While neither team has faced stiff competition in their first three games this season, they have both moved the ball at will.  A&M is led by senior quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who was excellent in the first two games of the season but struggled mightily against Florida International, throwing 4 INT’s.  For the Aggies to hang with the Cowboys, Johnson needs to play how he did in the first two games. 

The Cowboys come in putting up points at ease so far this season. They are averaging close to 600 yards of offense per game and are second in the nation in points per game.  Quarterback Brandon Weeden has been very impressive.  More importantly however is they have a healthy Kendall Hunter at running back.  Hunter is averaging almost 8 yards per carry, over 150 yards per game and has 6 touchdowns thru 3 games.  The winner of this game could challenge for the conference crown. 

Pick: Oklahoma St. 45 Texas A&M 35

… Continue Reading

Week 4 College Football Rewind and New Top 15

Arkansas pushed Alabama on Saturday afternoon but when the Tide had to make plays they got the job done and left with the victory.  Boise St. went on national television and again proved it did belong in the national title discussion.  They will have a few tough contests within the WAC, but ultimately could face an undefeated Nevada team on Thanksgiving weekend.

Two teams in our top 15 suffered defeat for the first time. Texas got blasted on their home field by UCLA and will drop out of the rankings, but will Arkansas?  Here’s the new BumpAndRun.com Top 15, which remains the same 1 through 8:

… Continue Reading

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.

… Continue Reading

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

… Continue Reading

BumpAndRun.com Play Sheet – Week 3

Sign-up for your FREE Play Sheet and get fantasy rankings, weekly picks and survivor pool solutions on one printable page. It’s sent straight to your inbox every week during football season.
 
As you prepare your fantasy line-up, finalize your weekly picks or decide which team to select in your survivor pool, BumpAndRun.com will serve as your “second opinion.”

Click Here to Download Your Week 3 Play Sheet!