Walking around downtown Cleveland on any given evening you may be left to wonder if folks haven’t all picked up and moved away from what has become known as ‘The Mistake by the Lake’.  The sidewalks are all but barren of anyone walking upright on two legs.  Passing by the Fat Fish Blue restaurant one is reminded of Cleveland’s southern connection and it’s deep rooted passion for the blues which is certainly an appropriate music format for it’s long suffering sports fans.  Perhaps, most peculiar though is that while the city’s population base has been cut in half from what it was in 1950, the general populace continues to find shelter at any one of its 3 major sports venues.    I use the word shelter very loosely, as Cleveland sports teams have been anything but a haven of comfort for its loyal fans in this or the previous century. 

In 1948 the curtain was lowered on Cleveland Indians World Series victories.  Coincidentally, the Soviet Union was also lowering its iron curtain on all things American.  The iron curtain has since been raised, and while the bubbly spilled from East Germany to the Eastern most regions of Russia, it has never flowed through an Indians dugout with championship flavour since the Indians beat the Boston Braves that year 4 games to 2.  No doubt there are still a few Clevelanders around who attended Game 5 of the World Series that year – a game that was attended by more that 84 000 at the new Municipal Stadium.  Hot on the heels of Jackie Robinson’s inspiring entrance to Major League Baseball, Bill Veeck then part owner of the Indians signed Lary Doby out of the Negro League 11 weeks after Jackie Robinson signed with the Dodgers.  Later during the stretch run, Veeck turned again to the Negro League in favour of Hall of Famer Satchel Paige.  Doby and Paige along with veteran Hall of Famer Lou Boudreau would lead the Indians to their last World Series victory. 

Few clubs have produced results of greater futility over the years than the Indians.  From 1960 to 1993, only 6 times did the Indians finish any higher than last place.  When a team spends so much time in the basement, it is only natural if their fans wonder if they will ever see the light.  Cleveland baseball fans have seen their team jettison to the playoffs more recently, twice making it to the World Series in the 90s.  This propelled an attendance record at newly constructed Progressive Field from 1995 to 2001 with 455 consecutive sellouts (a record that was only surpassed recently by the Red Sox).  This past year, while many prognosticators had picked the Indians to sit atop the A.L. Central division, the Indians provided us with little more than their best impression of the now defunct Montreal Expos in trading away arguably their 2 best players in Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez at the trade deadline.  Oh and did we mention they once again finished in last place this year – tied with the equally hapless Kansas City Royals.  Despite this finish, the Indians managed to attract an average of 22 357 fans in 2009.  Cleveland fans deserve better don’t you think? 

Will they find it in the Browns or the Cavs?  One thing is for sure, they won’t find it in the NHL, whence the Cleveland Barons left the scene in 1978 after a mere 2 years in Cuyahoga County. 

The Browns meanwhile continue to struggle and the days of championship football seem much farther removed than 1964.  The subsequent and more glorious days of Jim Brown, Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar, are of little solace to the new generation of Browns fans and for those who do remember fonder times it still feels more in the distance than springtime in Cleveland on a cool November day.  The compounding success of Bill Belichek in New England after a much maligned tenure in Cleveland only seems to heighten Browns fans angst and as has the recent trade that awarded the N.Y. Jets the rights to USC star Mark Sanchez in what would have seemed to have brought an end to a string of Cleveland quarterback woes.  Perhaps, a sign of the times in Cleveland was the hiring and subsequent firing of George Kokinis this year.  Poor George lasted less than a full 10 months in his tenure as general manager, an indication that the Dawg Pound is growing more restless than a kennel being visited by Michael Vick.  After last night’s loss in Cleveland to their foremeost rival Baltimore Ravens – a loss that left the scoreboard operator wondering if he would still have a job if his work were solely tied to the Browns performance – the Browns Super Bowl may come in a mere few weeks when they meet the Detroit Lions for what could be a battle for last place and the 1^st overall pick in next years draft.  Maybe, just maybe, the Browns will then be able to place their saddle on someone like the Longhorns Colt McCoy.  This is what the Browns had in mind when they pinned their hopes earlier this year on Notre Dame’s Brady Quinn.  One thing we know for sure, they won’t be pinning their hopes on Mangini’s old partner Charlie Weiss.  Hmmm, we think we know for sure. 

That leaves us with the Cavs who have never won an NBA championship, but are no doubt the closest to bring home some hardware (and we don’t mean copper piping from the abandoned homes over in Cleveland’s Slavic Village district).  After an 0-2 start the Cavs have won 7 of their last 8.  And with wins over the Magic and the Heat on back-to-back nights the Cavs seem primed to at least find themselves in the Eastern Conference final this year with or without Delonte West.  In fact, after being indicted this month on 8 charges, it may be time for squeaky clean general manager Danny Ferry to say ‘Go West young man, Go West’.  If he is looking for reinforcements, I’m sure Shaq and his law enforcement resume will gladly oblige.  So here is hoping the fine folks down at Fat Fish Blue will have something to cheer about this year.  They deserve it, don’t they?

The Duke

Alex Ovechkin, Andrei Markov, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Ilya Kovalalchuk , Marc Savard  and Jonathan Towes. Sounds like a list of NHL All -stars right, wrong, it’s a list of NHL injuries so far this year. Its hard to understand why a group of owners who rely heavily on such stars to attract fans to the games are not smart enough businessmen to realize they need to do whatever it takes to keep them on the ice and not “on ice “ due to injuries. Yes hockey is a fast game with big, strong men who wear equipment made of hard plastic ( I think NASA uses the same material on their space shuttles ) but can the NHL not take a look at another fast , hard hitting sport with big guys called the NFL and see how they have come to realize that they need to protect their stars. Its called changing the rules to protect stars such as the quarterbacks, rules such as not leading with the helmet, no chop blocking and no horse-collaring tackles. Yes these were rules that were implemented to minimize injuries and the players over time have come to accept them and understand why they are there. What has also been a key to these rules being effective is that they are enforced with a zero tolerance approach, unlike the NHL which even if they have the rules, completley ignore them during the playoffs showing that their is no consistancy in their approach.

Its time that the NHL governors did the same along with Gary Bettman, who should start worrying more about the injuries than worrying about keeping teams that are losing money in cities that don’t care about the sport. Maybe Bettman doesn’t realize that while the packaging on products and advertising is important, nothing will matter if the package is empty or full of damaged goods. Hockey fans are not going to dish out $100 a ticket to watch 3rd and 4th line players, unless of coarse they live in Toronto. That would be equivalant to watching movies such as, Oceans 11,12,and 13 without George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Counting on the players to solve this problem themselves is a long shot since they cannot even get themselves and their NHLPA properly organized, so how can they fix the game they play. It’s really a mess and if it keeps up we will be talking about the NHL in the same context that we talk about UFL or WNBA, second rate leagues that no body cares about.

SDG

The Heisman race is on and once again it looks like a popularity contest.
It reminds me of the Masters.  It’s talked about with this wistful romantic tone as if it were the ultimate form of sporting purity when in reality it’s archaic and hypocritical.

The BCS is -and rightfully so- a much maligned source of contention to college football fans.  It has turned sport into politics with its voting, polls, computers and propoganda determining the winner, but the Heisman isn’t much different is it?  Schools even launch ad campaigns for Heisman hopefuls.  What does that remind you of? Before you know it they’ll be launching smear campaigns too. Finally, the BCS gets dumped on (again rightfully so) for relying on the preseason polls in determining rankings, but the Heisman does the same.  Coming into this year the triumvirate of McCoy, Bradford & Tebow were already slated for the final ceremony unless someone else did something spectacular. How fair is that?

Now lets really get down to it, here are some of my core issues with the Heisman:

1.    How is it possible that the best player in college is always an offensive player? I guess I should have said almost always as Charles Woodson did win in 1997, but even then what won him the award was his special teams and offensive exploits not just his superior defensive skills. My question is, are defensive players inferior talents and impact their team’s success less than their offensive counterparts? The answer must be a big fat “Yes” to the average Heisman voter, as the Heisman allegedly goes to the Best Player in Football. Perhaps defensive players only play defense because they are not good enough to play offense, or why else would it be nearly impossible to win as a defensive player. Take that ………… So while it has been said that defense wins championships (another bogus argument) it appears that offense will win you the Heisman.

2.    How is it that they always come from a BCS school ? In the last 30 years all but 2 winners have come from the big six conferences.  For instance, in 2006 Colt Brennan threw for 58 TD’s, an all-time  NCAA record and had the highest passer rating in college football history but he doesn’t even get a sniff of the trophy.  In fact, he didn’t even crack the top 3.  Instead Brady Quinn and his 37 TD’s and eventual winner Troy Smith and his 30 TD’s got the love. How was that even possible? Some have said the numbers were skewed because they ran the spread offense and that he was the product of a system…doesn’t Tebow run the spread ? Yup! How many other teams are running the spread? Tonnes! How many have got close to Brennan’s year? None!

Fast forward to this year Tebow is on pace this year to throw for an amazing 15 TD’s!  Yet even with those mediocre numbers he is a clear front runner. This while you have Kellen Moore at Boise and Case Keenum at Houston  having great years and in the case of Keenum a spectacular year, not just because of the 28 TD’s and only 5 picks but also the way he has done it with thrilling 4th quarter comebacks.  Despite this, they are barely an afterthought. Fair? I think not. There is a great chance they will be watching the ceremony at home with their families because they didn’t even make the final cut.
3. Even within the big six there is a caste system. Last year Graham Harrell  had a better year than all three Heisman finalists, yet he made the mistake of going to Texas Tech, that highly regarded football factory.  What do you think would have happened though if he was the QB of Texas or Oklahoma for the last 2 years?  This guy could have won 2 Heismans, and would most certainly have one for sure.

So in short, this is how it works if you want to win the Heisman. First you have to play offense; Second you have to go to a BCS school and finally it cant’ be just any BCS school, it has to be a football power. How elitest and prejudiced can you be? In an era where people take more and more pride in the fact that we are winning the battle against discrimination we just find new, less offensive ways to discriminate.  While it’s true this is only football and means nothing in the grand scheme of things, sports is supposed to be about fairness and competition on a level playing field. The Heisman just doesn’t fit that criteria. The way it’s  presently configured it is no different than having a 100 meter race where a few runners get a 10 meter head start… that’s just not sport.

Personally, I think its time to put Heisman out of his misery.  It’s an impossible task for the 900 plus voters.  How many of them can truly vote with authority?  With over 100 teams to watch each of which play at least 11 games it is no wonder these guys use fraudulent criteria to narrow it down so they can just pick the best offensive player from one of 10 schools. Obviously, there is no way the Heisman will be laid to rest but can we at least quit pretending it’s as pure, wistful and romantic as it claims?

Necessary Roughness

As the Yankees closed out the Phillies last Wednesday night with an emphatic 7-3 victory and the 27th World Series championship in this acclaimed franchise’s history, attention quickly turned from the accomplishments of this team and settled instead on the broader implications of the result.  Doom and gloom, fire and pestilence were the words of the day.  Listening to the talking heads from everywhere except New York would lead an observer to believe that baseball’s Armageddon was nigh.  It could survive a lockout, an earthquake-shortened World Series, a Pete Rose-betting scandal, the steroid era, the complete indifference of every human under the age of 30 and even Bud Selig, but the Yankees winning with an outrageously bloated payroll was what was putting the game on the mat and it was about to be counted out.

Sadly, in the aftermath of this win, amazingly little was said about the quality of this team, about the remarkable durability of their “Core Four” –Jeter, Pettitte, Posada and Rivera- or the performance of the newcomers Texeira, Sabathia, Burnett and Swisher.  All anyone could talk about was the fact that the Evil Empire had “bought” another championship and probably ruined the National Pastime. Now, don’t get me wrong, baseball has clearly become a game involving the “haves” and the “have-nots” and the overall competitive balance has slipped below most other professional sports leagues.  Jerry Springer, with his shockingly immobile hips and spastic, seizure-like movements had a better chance of winning Dancing With the Stars than the Kansas City Royals had of taking home hardware this year. The reality is that at the start of any season, at least 20 teams have no least shot of competing on the frozen tundra fields that is November baseball.  But let’s find the right guy with his hands around baseball’s throat and inexorably squeezing the life out of it. Blaming the Yankees for collecting free-agents, out-spending everyone and winning their second title of the decade would be like parents going on vacation, leaving their teenagers at home with a fully stocked bar and wads of cash and then blaming the kids for turning their domicile into a scene from a  Khloe Kardashian pre-intervention home video. “Isn’t that what you wanted us to do while you were away”?? 

The Yankees are making money at a rate unimagined by baseball’s hierarchy as recently as 20 years ago. They have local revenues to the tune of about $290M and that doesn’t include undeclared revenues from subscriber fees for their own YES Network that is estimated to be another $150-200M per year. With no salary cap to limit their spending they are doing exactly what their fans expect them to do, buying the best players available.  It’s deliciously ironic (and in many ways beautifully symmetrical) that all of this outrage comes just a few months after the architect of this madness announced his retirement.  Donald Fehr, Executive Director of the MLB Players Association, announced in June that he would be leaving his post after nearly 25 years of bullying baseball’s owners into creating a system that was guaranteed to drive salaries into the stratosphere.  Having seen his grand plan come to a fruition that even he couldn’t have envisioned, Mr. Fehr is walking away while the Golden Goose is still technically alive, but definitely on life-support.  If you want a villain, the moon-faced Fehr is Darth Vader and Lex Luther rolled into one doughy package.  He cajoled an often leaderless pack of themselves-greedy owners into believing that almost unfettered free agency and effectively-uncapped payrolls was the way to go and the result is what we have today. The argument could be made that the NBA thrived with a similar system in the 80’s and 90’s when four teams –Lakers, Celtics, Bulls and Pistons- dominated and the bad teams stayed bad.  But basketball was always about national audiences and derived most of its income from Network TV revenues which thrived on titanic matchups.  With the exception of the national followings of the mighty Yankees and the continent-crossing Dodgers, baseball has conversely mainly been a regional game where loyal followers supported each local market and the revenue streams worked accordingly. In that sense it is similar to the National Hockey League, which woke up to the reality of its own impending self-immolation and instituted a salary-cap just in time.  Major League Baseball must do the same and do it quickly.

In eras of radically different financial realities, the Yankees have always been able to put together dominant teams.  This time, through no fault of their own, few are extolling the virtues of the team that dismantled the Twins, Angels and Phillies on their way to their latest championship. A team that is not dissimilar to their Murderer’s Row outfit of the 20’s, Dimaggio’s dynasty in the 40’s and 50’s and the Bronx Bombers of the late 70’s, it would be no surprise if 5 or 6 members of this team found themselves in Cooperstown in a few years.  Yankee teams have always engendered envy and been the target of much vituperation, but the difference this time is they’re being unfairly blamed for the overall condition of the game itself.  To find that culprit the owners must look in the mirror and at the departing back of the original Dr. Evil.

Phillip Rivers

With 2 back up corners missing in Philly, Norv is said to be working on a 5 wide receiver set. Chargers starting wide outs are both 6′5″ while both starting corners for Philly are under 6 foot. Throw it high !!

Joe Flacco

Joe hasn’t been lighting it up lately so we are going on a limb that he will produce and get Baltimore the victory on monday night, Cleveland can stop the run at times this season so let’s give Flacco a chance to see what he’s got !

Rbs

Adrian Peterson

It’s time that he puts up some numbers worthy of the #1 overall pick in every league this year, with Detrioit coming in and Ernie Sims hurting, this is just what the doctor ordered.

Knowshon Moreno

Denver has seen what Michael Turner did last week against the Skins, so expect Knowshon to get a chance to duplicate that success against a team that just can’t do much right this season.

Deangelo Williams

Quite simply, get him in the open field and he cannot get caught from behind which is why he’s put up lofty numbers and has 7 tds this season.

Steven Jackson

If the Rams have any chance of staying in this game, they better give the ball to the best player on their team, Carolinas success on the ground last week will give the Rams a little hope in trying to knock off 1 of only 2 undefeated teams left.

Beanie Wells

Beanie’s been getting more touches since his fumbling problems early in the year, without Lofa Tatupu in the middle, look for Beanie to do some damage on Sunday.

Shonn Greene

I have a feeling he’s going to put up some nice numbers this weekend if given enough opportunities, the Jets have a formidable line and should do some damage against the Jaguars.

Wrs

Percy Harvin

Starting to emerge as Favre’s favorite target, great run after the catch ability will definately add to his value, playing the Lions adds even more !!

Miles Austin

Only had one catch last week, but it went for a long touchdown, Packer secondary starting to show it’s age plus the Cowboys quaterback is Mr. November, by the way , game is November 15.

Larry Fitzgerald

He took Charles Tillman to school last week, Marcus Trufant just hasn’t played enough this year and he will also have to be “educated” at the University of Fitzgerald this week.

Desean Jackson

An element of a speedy receiver who can run past the secondary, combined with a defense that can’t rush the passer, equals a big day for Desean Jackson.

Vincent Jackson

Seeing a familiar pattern here, a poor mans Larry Fitzgerald, throw the ball up in the air and there’s a great chance he will come down with it ! Having a 10 inch advantage when you have your arms up on “Assaulted” Samuel should fare well for the other “Jackson” you should start in this game.

Braylon Edwards

Expect the bye week to help the chemistry betwwen Sanchez and Edwards , it can only benefit his production as it was reported that they went to a bar together last week and no one in the establishment needed medical attention by the time they left… it’s a good start at least!

TE’s

Dallas Clark

Like I said last week, he’s just always on the same page as his QB : Mr.Wonderful, too productive to pass up.

Jason Witten

Tony Romo always looks for Witten when he’s in trouble and Witten never fails to deliver, the backers and safeties in Green Bay are not great at covering the tight end.

Antonio Gates

If Green Bay can’t cover tight ends well, wait till you get a load of what Philly’s going to have on their hands with Gates, he has to make up for the dropsies last week and Philly’s depleted linebacker core is just what the other doctor ordered !

Kellen Winslow

He had really good chemistry with Josh Freeman(?)  last week, look for more as the depleted linebacking units seems to be rampant this year and Miami certainly has their fair share of injuries at the position.

Brent Celek

Kevin Burnett is the Chargers cover linebacker, he’s been banged up all year and may not play, Celek is McNabbs go to receiver in the red zone (gold zone , green zone, whatever…it’s where the points are scored !)

There you have it, hope you have another successful week !!

VV

It’s over!  The most anticipated regular season games of the past few years are behind us. In the last month we’ve had both Vikes/Packers games.

For the most part they actually lived up to the hype!  The Silver Fox, as Jared Allen calls him, has delivered, and Aaron Rodgers did what he usually does: put up big numbers in the most unspectacular way possible. To be truthful, I feel for Rodgers. He doesn’t really stand a chance. This dude has all the charisma of a wet-fish handshake, and even when he does something great – like scrambling for 30 yards – it’s the most boring exciting play you can imagine. Is that combination even possible? It is now. You can tell he is trying to liven it up and throw in some fist pumps, yells, and the odd chest pounding, but man it looks awkward! There is just something missing. While it looks like they have their  QB of the future, the future doesn’t seem to be now. They were 11-5 Favre’s last year with the same lousy line and running game and are  10-13 since. That isn’t all on Rodgers because in fact he has been really good. But this does show the  gulf between the ability to put up stats and the ability to lead. It may work out in the long run for the Packers, but for now it sure seems like they underestimated Favre’s value. I hope as well that Rodgers grows into the role of leader even if it is only because the guy seems to be a class act. It would be hard to imagine anyone handling the Packer/Favre soap opera any better than he has. But I digress, the point I wanted to make is where do both teams go from here?

It seems like we have two teams going in different directions,.The risk Childress took in going after Favre has totally paid off (so far), and all that dissension we heard that was tearing the team apart in training camp is palpable when you watch them play, isn’t it? The guys who claimed Brett was incapable of managing a game, limiting mistakes, and had pre-wrote articles during training camp talking about his first four-pick game have to wait another week to hit the send button. Who knows what will happen the rest of the year, but it is very apparent that Favre wasn’t done, that he can manage a game, and does anyone look more comfortable or at ease managing the 2 minute offence? In short, the Vikings look good; maybe even great.

On the other hand where are the Packers going? The season is by no means over but the signing of Ahman Green to back up Grant and to return kicks smacks of desperation. Which genius thought that was a good idea? Rumour has it they are bringing in Dorsey Levens and Edgar Bennett for a looksee (maybe they should trade for Tavaris Jackson to return kicks). And while many were predicting an MVP type season from Rodgers, that just hasn’t transpired. He is a good QB but he just isn’t ready yet; the line is bad and he isn’t helping matters by hanging onto the ball for way too long. Whether the problem is the line or the running game, something has to improve, and quickly, if they are  to succeed this year.

Predictions:
The Vikings will win 12 or 13 with a chance of going all the way.
The Packers will probably win 8.

All right Packer fans, it’s time to start rooting for the Saints!

Necessary Roughness

With the rise of another probably ill-advised football league, it got me thinking why don’t these things ever work or last? I could understand the mockery of the XFL but lets ignore them for a minute, why is there such a huge backlash everytime we get an upsart? NFL Europe was a punchline the Arena league too and even the older than NFL CFL is always a punchline, why?

One of the first explanations for this rationale is, “I only want to watch the best and the NFL has the best athletes”,  yet often that isn’t even true, as that same person will watch  countless hours of college ball where  the vast majority of the players will never be good enough to make anything other than some local flag football team. I understand if you are an alumni or have a pathological rooting interest but what’s the excuse for the rest of us? In the last couple weeks I’ve watched the perhaps the worst NFL game ever played, the Browns 6-3 so-called win  ( in reality both teams should have been awarded a loss) over the Bills. Also I watched the much ballyhooed Sooners/Longhorns game a couple weeks ago, a couple of college power houses going at it trying to match fumble for fumble for three hours. I’m sure any CFL game or the new upstart UFL games were better football than either of these. So what’s the difference? Hype, propaganda,&  the lemming syndrome

Lets face it for the most part we are lemmings, we like what we are told to like. In a world where everyone hates being told what to do, when it comes to football we just stand in line and take it from the sporting establishment and even end up embracing it.  If my wife asks me to take out he garbage I resent it because she’s telling me what to do but if Roger Goodell tells me to watch a game between the Rams & Redskins, I’ll gladly sit down and blow 3 plus hours that I’ll never get back. We like what we’re told to like, we watch what what we’re told to watch. We make fun of what others tell us to.  Its actually kind of embarrassing.

Its not that I’m trashing the NFL or NCAA, I love both and I’ll watch as many games as I can good or bad  but first and foremost I love football.  Not just what I’m told to love by the Networks, experts or the lemmings that hang on every propaganda laced word that these miopians use. Every league has brutal, unwatchable & ‘I’ll never get that time back’  games but all leagues will also have games that are all-time classics too. So I say bring on the UFL and its time for all of us fans of niche leagues to stop watching in secrecy fearful that someone may find out we love the CFL. Here is my advice the next time youre watching a CFL game and a friend comes into the room resist the temptation to change the channel in a panic as if they just caught you watching Oprah, and as the mockery begins provide them with a DVD you made of the Browns/Bills game from week 5, tell them to go watch it again and then come back for the beatdown of their life!

Long live the short lived UFL!

Necessary Roughness

Hey guys, last week we had an awesome week giving fantasy tips here at Sportsruckus and this week we will do more of the same so you can go out and kick someones tush !!

Qb’s

Matt Shaub

Owen Daniels may be gone but so are Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson in the colts secondary, besides Schaub always plays well in a dome.

Phillip Rivers

Start the mouth of the south this week as the giants have the same problems the colts are having in their secondary !

Kurt Warner

I dont know whats up with the cardinals this year, they suck at home and are amazing on the road….yes the game’s in Chitown.

Tom Brady

Beacause he’s Tom Brady !!

Rb’s

Cedric Benson

Against the Ravens…..yeah they don’t have Haloti Ngata and Bensen has been tearing it up lately.

Ray Rice

He’s been tearing it up period ! Jared Gaither is back on the OL and that fortifies Mr. Rice’s chances for success.

Deangelo Williams

You saw what Michael Turner did to the saints on monday night, he was just softening them up for what the panthers are about to do on Sunday !

Maurice Jones Drew

This one man wrecking ball is a must start if you can afford him, simply a touchdown machine with burst and power every time he touches the ball!!

Brandon Jacobs

It’s put up or shut up for this big bruiser, if the giants can’t run the ball on the chargers this sunday, they will have to call the coastguard during their bye week to save them !

WR’s

Andre Johnson

Goes hand in hand with the secondary hurting for the colts. having Matt Schaub doesn’t hurt either.

Randy Moss

Let’s face it. The only reason to play him is , when he wants to play – he can dominate. Let’s just say he’s having fun with Tom right now and would like to come out and play !

Vincent Jackson

The only way the chargers can win this game is by the continued connections (Phil, see the alliteration here !) down the field to the best young receiver in the AFC.

Roddy White

He’s been making some big plays for Atlanta this year, with the redskins stopping the run, expect a big game from Roddy.

Chad Ochocinco

The mouth that roared has been having a pro bowl season, sometimes you gotta go with the hot hand.

Mike Sims Walker

Who? After last weeks dismal performance. we get to ask that question again ! I’m in a forgiving mood so we’ll give him one more shot against a pathetic kansas city team.

TE’s

Vernon Davis

Having a monster year and already new QB Alex Smiths favorite target

Antonio Gates

Along with Vincent Jackson, expect him to be a big part of the offense as Antonio Pearce is getting ready for Social Security.

Dallas Clarke

Juat a flat out smart football player always running great routes and helping Peyton out of trouble, not to mention he’s been killing me in my league this year.

Benjamin Watson

Miami’s linebackers are getting up in years, BB is a genius and always exploits the opponents weaknesses.

Special Teamer

Darren Sproles

A threat to cause havoc everytime he touches the ball, the giants already have a postgame speach preparing to blame the special teams if they lose.

There you have it, hope we have as much success this week and deliver a body blow to the rest of your league this Sunday.

VV

Hello again, this week we will continue to give you top performers for your upcoming FFL Games this weekend in the NFL.

Qb’s

Tony Romo

Romo wasn’t built in the first 5 weeks of this season but he’s coming on strong lately and we’ve got to jump on this wagon with Seattle coming to town.

Matt Schaub

Playing against the Bills this week should give Schaub plenty of opporunities to emerge as a potential MVP if he keeps on winning

Jay Cutler

Quite frankly, he stunk last week, look for a rebound this week against the Cleveland Bums or write him off.

Phillip Rivers

He had a good game in a tough place to play (Arrowhead use to be anyway) look for more of the same as the Raiders have home field in San Diego from their LA Raider days !!

Kurt Warner

After going in to the Lions Den in New York and coming away with the victory, its time for Kurt to put up some big numbers against a Carolina defense that will be on the field too much in the Desert.

Rb’s

Steven Jackson

Word is Matt Stafford is starting this week for the Lions, start this stud RB immediately.

Ronnie Brown

No one has yet to stop mr. Brown this year, without Kris Jenkins in the middle, Ronnie was seen smiling all week !

Frank Gore

Look for him to get a lot of action as it’s the only way to keep Peyton from putting on his helmut too often.

Maurice Jones Drew

This kid’s a stud and look for the Jags to test the Titans all day long with this one man wrecking ball.

Michael Bush

It’s the Raiders only hope, besides San Diego has not proven they can stop the run yet !

Wr’s

Miles Austin

He’s still running !! Start him against a porous Seattle Secondary. Please notice the alliteration !

Mike Sims Walker

Who ? Just start this jaguar as Casey and  Finnegan as well as the rest of the Titan defense hasnt stopped anyone since the opener.

Vincent Jackson

Tough match-up but, “I’m sorry Mr. Jackson, you are for real !” hope that Sunday you make the Raiders Cry ……..

Donald Driver/Greg Jennings

It’s the only way green Bay can beat the packers as Ryan Grant is a bust this year and no one has run on the Williams boys.

Larry Fitzgerald

The sure handed one will definately get his chances to produce on Sunday and always plays well at home.

TE’s

Owen Daniels

Having yet another pro bowl season and just starting to get the love, Buffalo beware.(more alliteration for our editor !)

Antonio Gates

Still waiting for this stud to have a break out game, Raiders coming to town is just what the doctor ordered !

Brent Celek

Antonio Pearce of the Giants will wish he missed the team bus this Sunday in Philly !

Special Teams

Devin Hester

With Josh Cribbs coming to town, it might be time for the master to teach 1 more lesson.

There you have it, your week 8 prescrption to administer pain to your opponents this weekend !

VV

Hi Guys,

Every week , we here at Sportsruckus  will fill you in on how you can get the edge for this weeks upcoming NFL games for your Fantasy Football Leagues (FFL, from now on !!)

This week we have some good tips for you so you can hopefully win your game !!

Qb’s

Tom Brady,

I know its a no brainer but  remember no one has given up more td passes than the bucs and Tommy Boy just threw for 6 in the snow in New England , so he will still produce in the downpour that’s bound to occur playing in Old England !!

Peyton Manning

Going on the road and playing in a dome !! Go figure ! St Louis won’t put up too much of a fight since they have no wr’s so Peyton should have plenty of opportunies to reward his owners.

Donovan McNabb

Quite frankly, he stunk last week, so look for another rebound like last year when he had a monster game after he stunk too ! Plus in Philly they forget what you’ve done for them very quickly and with Kevin on the Kolb in the wings , Donovan better produce now !

Matt Shaub

He’s just too hot to pass up right now, look for big things against a really good 49er defense.

Rb’s

DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart

The Panthers are salivating for the Bills to come and bring the defence that gave up 309 yards rushing last week to the Jets.

Michael Turner

The Burner is going to do just that to the Cowboys who couldn’t stop much in their last effort in KC .

Ronnie Brown

He hasn’t been stopped yet ! The Saints bring in a formidable defence so we will see where the chips fall on this one but Miami has moved the ball on every team they’ve played so far.

Jammal Charles,

Or is it Charlie Jammal ? Either way , with the Charger defensive line in shambles, this no-name will be on everyones stat sheet come monday morning

Wr’s

Randy Moss

Who’s gonna stop him ? Tiki’s brother ? Tom Brady’s #1 target and besides he hates bangers and mash so he’s been spending extra time on the field and in the video room !

Reggie Wayne

Peytons not the only one playing in a dome this week !

Andre Johnson

If Roddy White put up 200 yards on the 49ers last game, imagine what this tackle breaking beast will do !

Dwayne Bowe

It’s not that Bowe is that good, it’s just that the Charger secondary is that bad !

TE’s

Dallas Clark,

With Will Witherspoon just traded, who’s gonna cover the best receiving tight end in the league ?

Brent Celek,

This guys the best unknown player in the league right now, Rocky McIntosh will be going to school on monday night in front of 20 million people…ouch !!

Special Teamer

Leon Washington,

The Raiders have one of the worst kickoff coverage in the league not to mntion that little Leon is a Stud !!

Defense

Philadelphia,

Washington only put 6 on the Chiefs at home….oh boy ! I might be in bed by halftime !

New York Jets

With Darrell Revis taking out their best receiver (whoever that is ) look  for the Jets to get on Jamarcus early and often.

There you have it, now go kick some tush on Sunday, and if you win, just email sportsruckus and I will send you my PayPal account for donations !

VV