Week 7

It was almost a perfect fantasy football weekend. Almost....

Steve's Skins (in Yahoo Pb.com league) won for the second week in a row, with every starter scoring in douible figures for a total of 190 points. Second place went to Aardvark Apocalypse at 147 and Bulldog Bruins at 145. The 43 point victory margin vaults me from fifth to first place. Steve Slaton and Ryan Grant both really broke out, giving me 22 and 21 points each. Owen Daniels added a whopping 25 points. Aaron Rodgers did a great job (29) and the Colts DST was a major contributor (21). 

Cowboys Drool (Cowboys Rule Yahoo league spanked Wide Right 96.25 to 65.45, to improve to 5-2. I'm now tied with 4 other managers for second place (8 teams make the playoffs). Big games from Peyton Manning, Marques Colston, Devin Hester, and the Saints DST drove the scoring. Brent Celek's mere 1.90 points were a real disappointment, but thankfully I had benched Chris Cooley. I didn't need Ricky Williams 23.60 points, but I'm still mad at myself for leaving him on the bench. I know conventional wisdom says you don't start both members of a RBBC, but I'm increasingly convinced that this year's Miami Dolphins are an exception to the rule. To explore that hypothesis, I've collected the data for my RBs and the flex RB/WR/TE position (starting RB marked by *):

Week	R. Brown	Williams	Hightower	D. Brown	Flex RB/WR/TE
1	4.15*	9.90	12.80*	3.45	3.40 (J Morgan)
2	18.80*	4.10	11.70*	9.00	3.33 (D Hester)
3	7.25*	12.20	3.55*	6.25	3.40(C Cooley)
4	17.75*	11.30	BYE	8.80*	11.30 (R Williams)
5	18.32*	8.40	10.85*	2.75	0.00 (C Cooley)
6	BYE	BYE	10.90*	BYE	5.35 (C Cooley)
7	8.40*	23.60	6.00*	2.90	13.05 (D Hester)

In weeks where Cooley started at the flex, Brent Celek was the starting TE. In 4 of the 5 weeks where all 5 players played, I would have been better off starting Williams and R Brown at RB and Hightower at flex. In the fifth (week 7), I would have been better off starting Wiiliams and R Brown and benching Hightower. Going forward, moreover, Beanie Wells looks to cut even more into Hightower's touches. Because this is a PPR league, Hightower will still have value. But I think I'm better off starting R Brown and Williams  (unless Miami is facing a really top run defense) and choosing between Hightower, Hester, and Eddie Royal for the flex slot. (With Chris Cooley out for the season, the days of starting 2 TEs are over. And Donald Brown hasn't done enough to work into the rotation other than as a bye week replacement. BTW, I picked up Fred Davis to fill Cooley's slot on the roster, but I'm not expecting much from him.)

Bruinskins II (CBS Platinum standard scoring) smacked it opponent 134 to 77 to improve to 5-2. I'm tied for 1st place in my division and tied with two other managers for second place overall (just 4 teams make the playoffs). Big games from Phillip Rivers (29), DeSean Jackson (24), and the Chargers DST (26), along with a decent day from Adrian Peterson (18) and a solid performance by Darren Sproles as a bye week fill in for Knoshown Moreno, drove the scoring. Chester Taylor (1) was a bust as a bye week fill in at the RB/WR flex spot, but next week I'll have the luxury of selecting between Sproles, Percy Harvin, and Mike Sims-Walker for that slot.

Lastly, however, we come to the problem child--Bruinskins I (CBS Free standard scoring). Pathetic performances on Sunday by Jay Cutler (10), Matt "sophomore slump" Forte (4), and Mario "how many TDs did I drop this week?" Manningham (4) left me trailing 88 to 89 going into MNF. Since my opponent had no Redskins or Eagles on his starting roster and I had emergent TE1 Brent Celek starting, surely I would pick up at least 1 point to tie. Right? Wrong. McNabb failed to target Celek with any regularity and he ended up with 0 points on a lousy 8 yards. Bring back Kevin Kolb, who leaned on Celek big time. So we dropped to 1-5-1, half a game out of last place. I don't believe in either team dumping or going dead, but it's sure not going to be any fun playing this team the rest of the way. What's really annoyong is that, on paper, this team should have been highly competitive. Matt Forte, Clinton Portis (whom I mistakenly traded), Roddy White, Jay Cutler, and Chad Ochocinco were decent picks for the first 5 rounds. Knownshon Moreno was a logical sleeper choice in round 6. Forte and to a lesser extent Cutler, however, have killed this team's chances week after week. Roddy White's slow start didn't help much. My team management hasn't been all the great, however. Trading Portis, Kelvin Winslow, and Ricky Williams, and Steve Smith (NYG) for an assortment that includes Mario Manningham, Reggie Bush, and others even more embarrassing to name were some of my worst deals ever. Oh well.

Comments

[Edmund]

On behalf of my beloved Houston Texans: "You're Welcome!".

[Cornellian]

Volokh Conspiracy just encroached on your turf by posting a recipe for braised short ribs with leeks and mushrooms. Are you going to take this challenge to your position as the preeminent food blog of the legal world lying down?