The Hive – Week 13 edition
Welcome back to The Hive everyone. I’d like to start off by paying respect to one of my favorite players, the late Sean Taylor. I truly believe he was developing into the most complete safety in football, if not one of the best players in the game today. I am saddened to know we will never see how his career plays out. I am automatically attached to any player on my dynasty team, and
Taylor
has resided on mine for the last 2 seasons, so I have followed his progress extensively, and he was easily having his best season in 2007. Though the football impact is obviously secondary at a time like this, I can’t help but wonder how the Redskins will recover as a franchise from this loss.
Taylor
will be hard to replace, both from a playmaking standpoint and from a leadership standpoint. I’m no Skins fan, but as a Sean Taylor fan and a Clinton Portis fan I will be pulling for
Washington
big time this weekend. I think we will see a lot of inspired performances from
Taylor
’s Hurricane family all over the league this week, as the many NFL stars that hail from the
University
of
Miami
will have their fallen brother on their minds and in their hearts.
How we rank `em!
Giddyup! – YEEEHAW!!
SINS! – solid if not spectacular
Hellno! – Get it? Got it? Good.
*No coverage of Thursday night game*
San Francisco
@
Carolina
Sunday 10am PST
SF
Giddyup! – Pat Willis, Nate Clements, Walt Harris
SINS! – Michael Lewis, Derek Smith, Marques
Douglas
Hellno! – Keith Lewis, Bryant Young
Carolina
Giddyup! – Jon Beason, Julius Peppers
SINS! – Chris Harris, Carolina CB’s, Thomas Davis, Mike Rucker
Hellno! – Kris Jenkins
Game notes: I look for the rookie LB’s, Willis and Beason, to shine for their respective teams. If I were in a CB required league I would be pretty hot to play Harris and/or Clements, but in a regular IDP league the two stud rookies are the only IDP’s I would be hot to play. Peppers has a great matchup, so of course I will tell you to start him, and at this point all of his owners should be mentally ready for him to disappoint you once again. Commonly spoken phrases among Peppers owners include: “!&%&$!@ Peppers!” “I passed on Kampman for THIS??” and “Get me the Dewar’s, Peppers crapped the bed for my money league team again!”
Jacksonville
@
Indianapolis
Sunday 10am PST
Jax
Giddyup! – Justin Durant, Daryl Smith, Sammy Knight
SINS! –
Rashean Mathis
Hellno! – Jags DL’s
Indy
Giddyup! – Bob Sanders, Gary Brackett
SINS! – Marlin Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, Antoine Bethea, Robert Mathis
Hellno! – No one you would normally consider.
Game notes: I’m really hoping this isn’t my local game in the morning. Not that I don’t think it will be a good game, but I just couldn’t possibly care less about these teams. Sure I will check the box score to see how
Wayne
is doing for my dynasty team, and I am very excited to see how Justin Durant does this week, but outside of that I really don’t care for either of these teams. From an IDP perspective, the only guys that you normally start that I would have reservations about would be
Jackson
and Hayden, as the Jags don’t throw to their WR’s much, and Garrard has zero picks on the season. You can probably do better at DB this week.
San Diego
@
Kansas City
Sunday 10am PST
SD
Giddyup! – Shaun Phillips, Cooper/Wilhelm
SINS! – Shawne Merriman, McCree/Hart
Hellno! – Luis Castillo
KC
Giddyup! – Jared Allen, Derrick Johnson, Donnie Edwards
SINS! – Napoleon Harris, Bernard Pollard, Jarrad Page, Tamba Hali
Hellno! –
Patrick Surtain
Game notes: This should be a grind it out kind of a game, so I look for nice scoring for the LB’s on both sides of the ball. Donnie Edwards will probably be on fire against the team that thought he was washed up, I look for a nice line out of him this week.
New York
Jets @ Miami Sunday
10am PST
NY
Giddyup! – David Harris
SINS! – Kerry Rhodes, Eric Barton, Kenyon Coleman, Darrelle Revis
Hellno! – Andre Dyson
Miami
Giddyup! – Jason Taylor
SINS! – Channing Crowder, Jason Allen, Cameron Worrell
Hellno! – Joey Porter
Game notes: This might be
Miami
’s best shot at a win for the rest of 2007. The Jets are BAD, and they will be without one of their only playmakers on offense, as it looks like Cotchery may get shut down for the last month of the year. David Harris will be studly here, and this is one of those weeks where Jason Taylor should go absolutely nutty.
Detroit
@
Minnesota
Sunday 10am PST
Detroit
Giddyup! – Ernie Sims
SINS! –
Paris
Lenon, Shaun Rogers, Kenoy Kennedy, Gerald Alexander
Hellno! – Cory Redding
Minny
Giddyup! – EJ Henderson, Ced Griffin
SINS! – Ray Edwards,
Chad
Greenway
Hellno! – Antoine Winfield
Game notes: If you play Antoine Winfield this week you have a stronger stomach than me. Even if he goes he could gimp up and exit early. I wouldn’t mess with him, though the matchup will tempt you if he isn’t on the inactives list in the morning.
Tampa
Bay
@
New Orleans
Sunday
1:15pm PST
TB
Giddyup! – Jermaine Phillips, Ronde Barber
SINS! – Tanard Jackson, Bucs LB’s, Phillip Buchanon
Hellno! – Gaines Adams
NO
Giddyup! – Will Smith, Roman Harper, Josh Bullucks
SINS! – Scott Fujita
Hellno! – Jason David
Game notes: This one will be up in the air until we know if Garcia can go for
New Orleans
. Regardless I love the starting safeties on both teams this weekend, and I like Bullucks as one of the top plays this week if Garcia cant go. If the erratic Luke McCown gets the nod, I expect some picks, and the playmaking Bullucks will benefit. Tanard Jackson is a sneaky play this week against Brees and company if you are say, a Gibril Wilson owner in need of a last minute pickup.
Seattle
@
Philadelphia
Sunday 10am PST
Seattle
Giddyup! – Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson
SINS! – Seattle DB’s,
Seattle
DE
’s
Hellno! – no one you would normally consider
Philly
Giddyup! – Trent Cole
SINS! – Omar Gaither, Takeo Spikes, Eagles DB’s
Hellno! – Jevon Kearse, Darren Howard
Game notes: I will likely get stuck with this game, as I live in the
Pacific Northwest
and I don’t have a satellite. Yay! Not! I hate the Seabags, and with McNasty injured the only player I give a damn about fantasy wise in this one is Deion Branch. IDP wise I have a feeling about Trent Cole this week. I think he goes nuts.
Atlanta
@
St Louis
Sunday 10am PST
Atlanta
Giddyup! – Michael Boley, John Abraham
SINS! –
Keith Brooking, Deangelo Hall, Chris Houston, Lawyer Milloy
Hellno! – Rod Coleman
STL
Giddyup! – Will Witherspoon, OJ Atogwe
SINS! –
Tye Hill, Corey Chaveous, James Hall
Hellno! – Pino Tinoisamoa
Game notes: Yawn. No one cares about this game, not even the fans of the two teams. Move on.
Houston
@
Tennessee
Sunday 10am PST
Houston
Giddyup! – Demeco Ryans, CC Brown
SINS! –
Morlon Greenwood, Von Hutchins
Hellno! – Mario Williams
Tennessee
Giddyup! – Nick Harper, Keith Bulluck
SINS! – David Thornton
Hellno! – Chris Hope
Game notes: Now here is a game that is a hell of a lot more interesting all the way around than it was in 2005. CBS AFFILLIATES – I COMMAND YOU TO AIR THIS GAME IN MY MARKET TOMORROW!! That probably wont work. I need a satellite. As for the game, Keith Bulluck owners have to be praying that the Titans continue to be without Albert Haynesworth. With Haynesworth healthy the Titans D is ten times better than it is without the Big Headstompah, and Bulluck doesn’t have to do as much. With Albert gone the last couple weeks we have seen some more 2006-like numbers for Bulluck, which is much appreciated on my IDP dynasty team!
Buffalo @ Washington Sunday
10am PST
Buffalo
Giddyup! – Terrance McGee, Angelo Crowell
SINS! – Aaron Schobel, John DiGiorgio
Hellno! – Donte Whitner
Washington
Giddyup! –
London
Fletcher, Andre Carter
SINS! – LaRon Landry, Rocky McIntosh
Hellno! – no one you would normally start
Game notes: This will be a truly emotional game for both sides. Injured Bills TE Kevin Everett and current slot WR Roscoe Parrish both played with
Taylor
at The U, and the Skins will obviously be experiencing one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. As far as the IDP’s are concerned it will be interesting to see how Landry fairs at SS without his all pro teammate at FS.
Cleveland
@
Arizona
Sunday
1:05pm PST
Cleveland
Giddyup! – Leigh Bodden, D’Qwell Jackson, Sean Jones
SINS! –
Brandon McDonald
,
Leon
Williams
Hellno! –Andra Davis
Arizona
Giddyup! – Karlos Dansby, Antrel Rolle
SINS! – Calvin Pace, Rod Hood, Oliver Celestin
Hellno! – Eric Green, Bert Berry
Game notes: This should be a big game for fantasy teams everywhere, including mine. I own either Anderson or Warner in most of my leagues, and I have the Anderson/Edwards duo in my dynasty league. Niiiice. On the defensive side of the ball I think both teams will see lots of scoring from the DB’s. Another sneaky DB pickup this week is Oliver Celestin, who takes over for Adrian Wilson after
Wilson
was put on IR.
Denver
@
Oakland
Sunday
1:05pm PST
Denver
Giddyup! – DJ Williams, Ian Gold, Elvis Dumervil
SINS! – Tim Crowder, Nate Webster, Champ Bailey, Hamza Abdullah
Hellno! – John Lynch
Oakland
Giddyup! – Kirk Morrison
SINS! – Thomas Howard, Michael Huff, Stu Scweigart, Derrick Burgess
Hellno! –
Jay Richardson
Game notes: With 2 of the worst run defenses in the game going head to head, the LB’s on both sides should be golden, and I love Williams and Morrison in particular. Look for Dumervil to get back on track, the Raiders OL is much better, but still vulnerable on that side to speed rushers.
New York
Giants @ Chicago Sunday
1:15pm PST
NY
Giddyup! – Antonio Pierce, Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan
SINS! – Justin Tuck, Aaron Ross
Hellno! – Gibril Wilson
Chicago
Giddyup! – Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman
SINS! –
Brian Urlacher
Hellno! – Nathan Vasher
Game notes: The loss of Gibril Wilson for this week could not come at a worse time for the Giants, or his fantasy owners. Hope the week off does him good, but any kind of foot or toe injury can be a real problem for a DB. For the Bears I think Briggs has a studly game this week, he will be in against the run and he will be all over Shockey as well.
Cincinnati
@
Pittsburgh
Sunday
5:15pm PST
Cincy
Giddyup! – Madieu Williams, Landon Johnson
SINS! –
Justin Smith
,
Leon
Hall, Jonathan Joseph
Hellno! – Dhani Jones
Pittsburgh
Giddyup! – Ike Taylor, James Harrison
SINS! – James Farrior, Anthony Smith
Hellno! – Troy Polamalu
Game notes:
This one could get real ugly, real quick. Hopefully the Bengals can make a game of it, for the viewer’s sake. Ike Taylor is a nice sleeper DB this week, he usually shines against Ocho Cinco as far as IDP stats are concerned. All I know is they better have fixed that field since the last game. That was an atrocity.
New England
@
Baltimore
Monday
5:30pm PST
NE
Giddyup! – Adalius Thomas
SINS! –
Asante
Samuel, Ty Warren
Hellno! – Rodney Harrison
Baltimore
Giddyup! – Ray Lewis, Dawan Landry, Ed Reed (yes THAT Ed Reed!)
SINS! – Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs
Hellno! – Kelly Gregg
Game notes:
Another week, another slaughter? I think so this time around unless the Ravens defense and special teams can muster up 3 or 4 TD’s, cuz Kyle Boller isn’t doing squat. This should be a solid IDP week for the long forgotten Ed Reed, who should at a minimum get a handful of tackles against the Pats high octane passing attack. If you were ever going to start the guy, it might as well be this week.
Well, that about wraps it up for lucky week 13 of IDP action! Good luck to those of you whose playoffs start this week, and good luck to those of you making the playoff push! See you next week!