Happy New Year and Happy Week 17

By Dan Rodgers

OK, the fantasy championships didn't go quite as expected. I came in second in one of them and I just got owned because everyone chose not to perform. I came in second in another one because my opponent got 20 points over his projection, had his kicker (Rob Bironas) get 15 points and Larry Fitzgerald and Matt Stafford both got double their projections. The only thing I could have done to win would have been to play Detroit defense over Tennessee. I figured Tennessee is a decent defense and Jacksonville's offense sucks. Of course the Jags put up 17 points and Detroit gave up 10 and scored a touchdown of their own.

The last league is ESPN.com and their fantasy playoffs are two rounds each. So I'm up 28 points and I'm really not concerned. The Saints have been playing great so I think Cam Newton won't score his usual 25-30 points and the only player on his team I'm worried about is MJD against Indy defense.

Well, now we move on to picks. This is always a tough week because certain teams have clinched everything so they bench their players. Other teams play their guys because they want to stay hot going into the playoffs. Other teams bench their slightly injured players because they have no chance at the playoffs so they don't want to worsen the situation. I have really leveled off from my hot start and have just been flirting with .500 most weeks; however, I did tie for the week this past week.

Was/Phi 9 I think Philly has clearly found their stride and will be determined to finish the season at .500
SF 10.5/Stl The 49ers are playing for a first-round bye and should destroy the most-likely Kellen Clemens-led Rams
Chi/Min 1 Two terrible teams, Minnesota at home is the safe pick
Det 3.5/GB It was just announced that Rodgers isn't active so this spread will probably jump... but Detroit wants to lock up the five seed
Car/NO 9 New Orleans has to pray the Rams win so they can get the two seed, so I think they'll play hard
Ten 1/Hou I know the Texans are locked into the three seed, but I think they'll want to knock Tennessee out of the playoffs
Ind/Jax 3.5 The Colts will play tough and keep it close but won't jeopardize their chance at the No. 1 pick
NYJ/Mia 3 The Jets are underdogs so I can't not take them because they are USUALLY good with their backs against the wall... wouldn't be surprised if this pushed though Jets SU
Buf/NE 10.5 The Pats are playing to lock up the one seed, they'll blow Buffalo out
TB/Atl 10.5 Atlanta will know whether or not they have anything to play for by game time, but Tampa is so terrible and the Falcons will want to correct all of the things that went wrong last week
Bal 1/Cin The Ravens play at the same time as the Pats and Steelers so they are still playing to lock up a bye
Pit 6.5/Cle The Steelers can pray for a Cincy win which would make Pittsburgh the two seed, and I think the Steelers win big here
SD/Oak 3 I'm digging the upet here because the Chargers definitely want to knock Oakland out, and San Diego typically plays well with no pressure SD SU
KC/Den 3.5 I like that extra half point but I actually like the Orton factor and I'm thinking another upset here KC SU
Sea/Ari 3 I think Seattle will keep it close if not win outright...
Dal/NYG 3 The Giants are just the better team at this point, I think they'll cover easy

Week 1: 7-9 ATS 10-6 SU
Week 2: 10-6 ATS 13-3 SU
Week 3: 11-4-1 ATS 10-6 SU
Week 4: 9-7 ATS 13-3 SU
Week 5: 6-7 ATS 7-6 SU
Week 6: 10-3 ATS 10-3 SU
Week 7: 9-3-1 ATS 10-3 SU
Week 8: 7-6 ATS 9-4 SU
Week 9: 8-6 ATS 9-5 SU
Week 10: 9-7 ATS 9-7 SU
Week 11: 6-5-2 ATS 11-2 SU
Week 12: 8-7-1 ATS 12-4 SU
Week 13: 8-8 ATS 10-6 SU
Week 14: 9-6-1 ATS 12-4 SU
Week 15: 7-7-2 ATS 10-6 SU
Week 16: 8-7-1 ATS 12-4 SU
Total: 132-98-9 ATS 167-72 SU

Bold Prediction: Jets make the playoffs? Haha, I can only pray... not impossible though: Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Oakland or Denver have to lose...

My favorite lines are SF -10.5, Philly -9, NE -10.5, Pitt -6.5, SD +3

Rodgers That

NFL Week 13: The Down and The Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

Hey everybody, finals week is approaching fast. This week and next week will be the last two mini editions of this segment. The rest of the season and the playoffs will be a more in depth look. Enjoy.

Week 13

The Down

Hooray, now all three first-round quarterbacks have thrown five (5) interceptions in a game this year. Matt Stafford, my very own Mark Sanchez, and most recently, Tampa Bay's Josh Freeman. He did throw for 321 yards, however, he was unable to come through in a very winnable game against division foe Carolina. Congrats to Freeman for joining the club, I'm sure Stafford and Sanchez will welcome him with open arms. Better luck next time.

The Dirty

Due to the lack of impressive performances this week, the winner of the award goes to Bruce Gradkowski of the Oakland Raiders. Yes, you heard me correctly, the quarterback of the Raiders just won this award. This is mainly because he threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 27-24 Oakland victory. However, I also want to give recognition to Tony Romo who threw for 392 yards and three touchdowns, and to Jason Witten who had 14 receptions for 156 yards in a loss to the Giants.

Rodgers That

NFL Week 11/12: The Down and The Dirty *mini edition

By Dan Rodgers

What's going on everybody?

I once again apologize due to the lack of posts. It is crunch time for college students because finals are approaching fast. This will be an abbreviated version of Weeks 11 and 12.

Week 11

The Down

Unfortunately, I am going to be unbiased because this week's award definitely is going to my New York Football Jets QB Mark Sanchez. Once again, he had an atrocious game adding to his most-likely record setting interception pace with four more against the Patriots suspect defense. He did throw one touchdown but on many of his throws he did a nice job scrambling and just tried to do too much by throwing into tight coverage. In fact, a few of his picks didn't even look like a Jets receiver was in the area. Hopefully, he will get his act together, but what do I know? I'm a Jets fan...

The Dirty

I can't believe this, but somehow Brown's QB Brady Quinn has just beyond convinced me that he more than deserves his award. I don't even care that it was against the Lions because the fact he threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns. Somehow the Browns blew a 24-3 lead and lost on a touchdown pass by Matt Stafford with no time on the clock. Who knows if Quinn will ever have a game even close to that ever again, but props to him. I would also like to send a shout-out to Wes Welker who had 15 receptions for 192 yards, and to T.O. who had nine receptions for 197 yards and one touchdown.

Week 12

The Down

I am proud to say that this week's The Down goes to a player that faced my Jets. Jake Delhomme stole the award, just barely, from Matt Stafford. Delhomme threw four interceptions against New York, two to Revis and two to Rhodes. Revis, one of the best corners in the NFL, took one back to the house. Delhomme had to win due to him throwing for 83 less yards and Stafford at least had one touchdown. Delhomme was just all around awful and Carolina's defense actually kept them in the game for the most part forcing three turnovers of their own.

The Dirty

While some people might disagree with Brett Favre not winning the award this week, those people obviously missed the Monday Night Football showdown in the Big Easy. The unbeaten Saints took it to the Patriots by exploding on offense and embarrassing the normally fluid Pats offense. The Saints defense picked off Tom Brady twice but it didn't even matter because Drew Brees threw five (5) touchdown passes. He showed that the Patriots are more than beatable and just put on a clinic with his right arm. He shared the love because each touchdown was to a different reciever. Oh, he also threw for 371 yards and had a perfect 158.3 QB rating. Congrats to the 11-0 Saints.

Rodgers That

NFL Week 9: The Down and The Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

I am aware that I just wrote back-to-back pieces about the MLB Gold Gloves Awards, but this is my weekly piece and I want it to be down every Wednesday. Well, at least when I started it was still Wednesday.

NFL Week Nine

"The Down"

This award was tough to hand out to one player in the beginning. After analyzing the stats and looking a bit deeper into everything it became clear that Matthew Stafford came out on top (or bottom depending how you look at it). Even though he threw two touchdowns and Orton didn’t throw a single one. Stafford threw for 22 of 42 for 203 and 2 TDs. Oh, not his five, yeah count ‘em FIVE interceptions. Stafford took after last week’s biggest loser, Kurt Warner. The main reason why Stafford had to be chosen over Orton is because at least Orton faced a respectable team in the Steelers. Also, Stafford faced the Seahawks, and jumped out to 17 point lead. Why did he even throw a pass the rest of the game? Oy, who knows…

Honorable Mentions:

QB Kyle Orton (DEN) – 23 of 38 for 221 yards and 3 INTs

QB Joe Flacco (BAL) – 18 of 32 for 195 yards and 2 INTs

RB Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG) – 14 for 39 yards

WR Ted Ginn, Jr. (MIA) – 1 for 7 yards

"The Dirty"

Kurt Warner, last weeks biggest loser, completely dominated the Chicago Bears supposedly respectable defense. Warner only completed 22 of 32 passes for a measly 261 yards. So you might be asking how he won the award this week? Well, his five touchdown passes certainly sealed the deal for me. That’s right, a week after his five interceptions, Warner showed that at 37 years-old he still has some juice left in the tank. I don’t think there is any discrepancy to be had over Warner. I mean Fitz had a crazy good game, but of course that was because of Warner. Randy Moss and Mike Sims-Walker put up impressive stats but they were identical so just one of them couldn’t win it. Lastly, Michael Turner put up over 150 yards for the second consecutive week but was slightly over showed in my book.

Honorable Mentions:

WR Larry Fitzgerald (AZ) – 9 for 123 yards and 2 TDs

WR Randy Moss (NE) – 6 for 147 yards and 1 TD

WR Mike Sims-Walker (JAX) – 6 for 147 yards and 1 TD

RB Michael Turner (ATL) – 18 for 166 yards and 2 TDs

If anyone thinks I missed a player that deserves to be recognized on either list please let me know.

Rodgers That