Hello fellow Sharks! From now right up through Week
17, we’ll be giving our insight as to which games are the ‘games to watch’ each
week. This is a heavy burden, as we know a lot of you have Sunday Ticket, too
much free time, and an addiction to premium brews like Natty Lite or Yuengling.
A lot of you know us from our weekly podcast on this site (the Fantasy PRE-Wind
podcast), and our “Sine Lines” sport-toon (every Mon, Wed, Fri), or maybe one
of our posts in the Tank. We’re just like you, though. We love a good football
game, no matter who’s playing.
All times Eastern:
Ok,
ghouls and boils… it’s time for our annual Halloween issue of ‘Games to
Watch’. Don’t be scared that you’ll miss
the best games this weekend – that’s why we’re here. (Well, that and the matter of those pesky
contracts Tony Holm made us sign… in blood, we might add.) Just relax and pay close attention to the
games we’ve outlined for you, and you won’t wind up watching the NFL equivalent
of your house getting TP-ed, instead you’ll find yourself savoring the sweet
taste of these three tasty treats from the opening whistle to the final gun
.
New York Giants @ Philadelphia – Sunday 11/1, 1:00pm
Dolfi’s
house is going to be a great place to be on Halloween. First, he invites the
entire FantasySharks staff and everyone gets dressed up in their favorite
costume. (Even Vinnie gets out his designer Lord and Taylor Bag to cover his
head.) You should see the spread he puts
out too; drinks like his famous ”Blood” (aka the best Bloody Mary’s this side
of the Purple Moose Saloon), “Dead Cat” (aka a special Kit Kat layer cake that
diabetics risk their life over), and “Vampire Bat Wings” (aka deep fried
chicken wings that have honey mixed in his homemade teriyaki sauce). Anyway, the
party is a good time and to “die” for. Not to pat the party on the back, but
there is only one place better than his to be this Sunday – that’s about 50
miles north of his place in Philadelphia at the corner of Broad and
Patterson. At 8pm, you have the World Series between
the Yanks and Phillies. A great rivalry between two cities that are truly not
fond of one another, but the real party starts 7 hours earlier as another
rivalry between the same two cities is a nice preview for the evening as the
Giants square off against the Eagles.
This one promises to be a real “blood bath” - not just between two
cities that have an east coast rivalry, but two teams that know the road to the
playoffs comes at the hands of beating the other team down – every year.
Spite,
bitterness, disgust; three great Halloween / horror words that sum up the
feeling the Giants have toward the Eagles. Spite - for the Eagles knocking them
out of the playoffs last year. Bitterness - for the McNabb on the phone
sideline thing (which rumor has the Giants made a poster of and posted it to
get everyone going this year). Disgust - for how they could let an inferior
team beat them (at least, according to themselves). Don’t be mistaken by QB
Eli Manning’s (1633yd/12TD/6int) mild
nature in the media, he’d love nothing more than to pass for 5 TDs to his
favorite two targets, WRs
Steve Smith
(594yd/45rec/4TD) and
Mario Manningham
(439yd/28rec/4TD), against an Eagles secondary that has studied him in and out.
RBs
Brandon Jacobs (464yd/2TD) and
Ahmad Bradshaw (455yd/3TD) are sick of
the questions about the Giants running game and hope to flatten a Philadelphia
D currently ranked 9th against the pass. Speaking of defense, we
can’t forget to mention that this destructive D from East Rutherford happens to
be ranked first in fewest yards allowed, and healthy DE
Osi Umenyiora (3 sack/1 forced fum) looks to feast on an Eagles
O-Line that has made him very full in the past. (We’re pretty sure Eagles OT
Winston Justice is *still* having
nightmares about Osi after his last encounter with him.)
We had
three words for the Giants that drive them, but when it comes to the Eagles, we
simply have one: Mysterious. Mysterious because, week to week, you absolutely
never, EVER know what team you are going to see. One week,
Donovan McNabb (768yd/6TD/1int) can give you a “treat”, completing
over 76% of his passes and racking up 3 TD throws. The next week McNabb and the Eagles find
themselves victim of a very nasty “trick” and get rolled by a #32 ranked
defense, not even finding the end zone once. WR
DeSean Jackson (423yd/21rec/3TD) can treat us with runs and catches
over 50 yards for TDs one week, and trick fantasy owners with a catch-less outing
the next. Even RB
Brian Westbrook
(197yd/1TD) can trick us by struggling when healthy, but treat us to unexpected
stellar play when hurt. When it comes to the Eagles, they are a complete enigma
- and it simply scares everyone, fantasy owners and fans alike. Thankfully, the Eagles and some fantasy
owners have a few nice treats they’ve been enjoying all season – like the play
of TE
Brent Celek (386yd/33rec/2TD)
and a defensive secondary, lead by CB
Asante
Samuel (18tkl/4int), that is 3rd in interceptions so far this
season.
You know how
they say the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? In the spirit of Halloween, we tend to think
it’s through his rib cage, preferably with a pick axe. But seriously ladies, in
reality it would be to allow your man to watch this game, after sending out for
a dinner of cheesesteaks, and then treating him to the “other” NY / Philly
match-up at 8-ish. In a weekend filled with all kinds of tricks, let this game
be one of your treats.
Denver @ Baltimore – Sunday 11/1, 1:00pm
With Halloween
fast approaching, what better game than the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Denver Broncos? With Baltimoreans crazy about Edgar Allen
Poe, and with Denverites wondering if their to-good-to-be-true team is
“masking” something, this one was made for a Halloween weekend. Let’s make one
thing clear to questioning critics of both teams though - both of these squads
are the real deal. And with each coming
off of a bye, both are well rested and ready to start the second half of the
season with a win.
Let’s be
honest, during the preseason no one thought QB
Kyle Orton (1465yd/9TD) could pass, no one knew if RB
Knowshon Moreno (381yd/1TD) could play,
and no one knew if WR
Brandon Marshal
(332yd/29rec/4TD) was even going to bother playing for the Broncos. Fast forward to week seven, you have three
big pieces for the reason you have fans in Denver singing love songs about
Josh McDaniels. Pepper in a little
Correll Buckhalter (313yds/1TD) as well
as DE
Elvis Dumervil (23tkl/10
sacks) leading the #1 ranked defense in the AFC and you have sunshine in the
mile high city, no matter how much snow is falling.
Your attention
please; those waiting for the sophomore slump of QB
Joe Flacco (1674yd/11TD) please stop holding your breath – you’re
starting to look like Violet Beauregard being rolled to the juicing room by the
Oompa Loompas. Flacco has thrown at
least one TD in each of the last six games, and doesn’t show any signs of
slowing up. Speaking of sophomores, it doesn’t look like it hit 2nd year pro
Ray Rice (441yd/3TD) either as he leads
the team in carries. Former retiree (or contemplator of retiring) WR
Derrick Mason (381yd/3TD) would be
considered the “old man” of the bunch, but obviously is a wise one too, as he wisely
decided to give it one more go and now leads the team in receiving yards. Defensively,
the team still is formidable; even though their stats are middle of the road,
the losses this team has faced have been by 6 points, 3 points, and 2
points. Baltimore is in every single game to the
end and we don’t expect any less in this contest.
Some say a few
of Denver’s wins are at the hands of some
really week opposition like Cleveland and Oakland. Others say Baltimore is only two touchdowns away from
being undefeated. Let’s set the record straight - both of these teams could
meet again this season. Never mind that Baltimore is in a tough division, with
their improved offense and a renewed commitment to defense, this team could be
in the thick of things come January… and if Denver continues to play as good as
they have on both sides of the ball, they could very well be right there to meet
up with them in the AFC playoffs.
Minnesota @ Green Bay – Sunday 11/1, 4:15pm
What
would our “Trick or Treat” weekend be without the ultimate story of trickery
and treatery? Brett Favre treated Green Bay fans to a Super Bowl and three
MVP seasons as the signal caller at Lambeau Field. He also treated every football fan to some
memorable passes and comeback victories along the way. Then he played a cruel game of trickery with
the organization that helped make him the Hall of Fame-er he will be. He was retired, then un-retired, then retired
again. He put the Packers in a no-win
position and then played the part of the wounded hero as he left for the swamps
of New
Jersey to start for the New York Jets. After tricking fans of the Jets into thinking
he could actually lead them to the playoffs, he pulled another retirement scam
and got out of town after just one season.
But that’s all behind him as he is treating the Vikings fans to a 6-1
start and an almost inevitable playoff berth.
Certainly
the Vikings are doing well behind the inspired performance of QB
Brett Favre (1681yd/12TD/3int). Heck, it’s hard not to be inspired when he is
actually keeping his interception totals on pace to be his lowest EVER in his
storied career. But he’s not doing it
alone. RB
Adrian Peterson (687yd/8TD) is still one of the NFL’s true studs,
keeping opposing defenses thinking run and opening up the pass for the rest of
the offense. The trio of WRs on Minnesota –
Sidney Rice,
Percy Harvin,
and
Bernard Berian – has already
accumulated 79 catches for 1,082 yards and 6 TDs and is poised for more. And just in case that group of offensive
standouts can’t treat the fans to a high-scoring affair, the Vikes D, lead by
DE
Jarred Allen (29tkl/7.5 sacks/3
forced fum), can certainly trick the opposition a time or two – especially a
team like the Packers who have already allowed 25 sacks just 1/3 of the way
through the season.
Green Bay felt like they got the ultimate
trick played on them with Brett Favre, heart and soul of the Packers, winding
up a divisional foe playing for their most hated rivals, the Minnesota
Vikings. And their loss in the first
meeting between these two squads was certainly no treat. But that’s all behind them now and the Packer
faithful are hoping QB
Aaron Rodgers
(1702yd/11TD/2int) can keep up his blistering numbers, and hoping the pounding
he is taking behind that porous offensive line doesn’t affect his ability to
find guys like
Donald Driver (479yd/27rec/3TD)
and
Greg Jennings (356yd/22rec/1TD)
downfield. RB
Ryan Grant (495yd/3TD) has already almost reached his TD total for
all of last year, but he’s not finding things easy running behind the Packer
o-line. While the o-line isn’t playing
up to par, the same can’t be said of the Packer defense, ranked in the top 5 in
overall defense, scoring defense, and passing defense. If Favre doesn’t keep guys like CB
Charles Woodson (26tkl/4int/1TD) in his
sights, the Packers could get a very sweet treat in the form of six points on a
turnover.
So which
will it be for Packer fans? Another
horrible trick played on them by their one-time hero, Brett Favre? Or will they savor the caramel apple
sweetness of a victory behind the leadership of Aaron Rodgers? Will the Vikings get tricked out of victory
two weeks in a row? Or will they crew up
another opponent like a mini Clark Bar?
No matter which side you’re rooting for, this one has all the earmarks
of a classic in the making. And we
guarantee this ‘Game to Watch’ will be a treat for every NFL fan.
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