Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

Colts were right to cut Manning loose

- March 7th, 2012

It’s the end of the Peyton Manning era. And shockingly, it’s not even a shock.

If you had even mentioned in passing the possibility of the Indianapolis Colts cutting Manning two years ago, you would have been laughed off of the Internet. No, it’s a stark reality that with the uncertainty of his health, his age and the fact that the Colts have a franchise quarterback virtually waiting on deck that it makes complete sense for the team to cut him.

In what world would it make sense to hand over $28 million to a man that might not even be physically able to do his job anymore? The only thing that was keeping Manning on the Colts was sentimentality.

Now, the reality is that this is Andrew Luck’s team. Like Manning did in 1998, the Stanford QB who has been the best college QB for two years will take over the Colts.

Aside: The amount that Luck will make in the first four years of his rookie deal will be less than Manning would have made with his bonus.

So now only questions remain: Where will Peyton go? Is he actually healthy enough to play? What kind of guaranteed money can he get in his contract? Or will it be mainly incentive-based? Will Reggie Wayne follow him?

With all those question marks abound, the only thing for certain is this: NFL free agency just got a lot more fun.

 

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The 2011 fantasy NFL preview is here!

- August 25th, 2011

In case you all haven’t been checking out the Sun daily, we’ve started our annual NFL fantasy football preview written by yours truly.

Here’s the links from Day One (Preview and WRs): http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/23/winds-of-change-hit-nfl-rosters

And Day Two (QBs and DEFs): http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/24/fantasy-football-position-rankings-pt-2

Also, throughout the season, we’ll be running a weekly fantasy column both in print and online on Saturdays, plus a quick recap every Monday.

Look forward to hearing back from you throughout the season!

Follow me on Twitter @danbilicki

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Football is back, baby!

- July 26th, 2011

I couldn’t have timed my return from vacation any better: After a week of hemming, hawing and delaying a couple votes to end the lockout, the NFL is finally back to work. But unlike yours truly, who had a splendid time in Costa Rica, the NFL has returned from exiling its employees and will come back to a summer schedule that will be frantic to say the least.

Let’s take a look at all the positives to come out this deal, not including the obvious one that, of course, football is back, baby!

There’s a rookie salary cap: I wrote last year that Sam Bradford would be the last of the big money rookies and I was right. No more massive bonus that can crush a team if their high draft choice busts. No more teams trading away high picks because they feel that they can’t afford to pay a certain player in that slot. This is one of the smartest and easiest moves the NFL could have made.

We get confirmation that Al Davis is still crazy: The owners voted 31-0 in approval of the new deal with Oakland abstaining from the vote citing financial reasons. Really, Al? Every other team – rich or poor – thinks this deal is a great one and you don’t? Maybe it’s time to retire and/or give up the Weekend at Bernie’s routine.

We get one week of absolutely crazy activity: Free agency, trades, cuts and training camps will all begin with the span of days, starting today. There will never be such a frenzied period of movement and team adjustment in any pro sport, ever. Just keep a sports website open and continually hit refresh during the day, something should always be going down.

Retired and injured players get more benefits: We’ve found out recently how much a football career can weigh on a player both physically and mentally. Concussions are leg injuries are serious things that can have lasting repercussions on a person’s well being. Now the men who have played this game for our entertainment get more help after their careers and a better health plan. Kudos everyone for making this happen.

The new CBA runs for ten years: That means a whole decade of labour peace with no chance of either side opting out and causing another lockout or strike. Even though this lockout didn’t really hurt fans the way the NHL’s did in 2004 or how the NBA’s current one will, it was terribly annoying to say the least. It was like a mosquito bite that just kept on itching, but you knew would go away eventually with no real harm done.

Fantasy football and football betting are back: These two things were billion dollar industries themselves and were put in jeopardy with the lockout. Now, we can start analyzing team’s records against the spread and start scouting out sleepers for our office pools.

Now, off to talk to the boss about my coming fantasy football spread

Follow me on Twitter @danbilicki

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Schaub stinks and NFL Week 13 picks

- December 3rd, 2010

No commentary today except for the fact that Matt Schaub might be one of the most overrated QBs in the league. Quite simply, he’s not a leader, he’s a fantasy player. He is definitely a guy who you would much rather have starting for your fantasy team than your actual team. Numbers can only get you so far in the NFL. In the show, there’s only one number that really matters and that’s wins.

The lines are straight from Vegas and the home teams are in CAPS

MINNESOTA -5.5 over Buffalo
The Vikings play their first game at home without Brad Childress at the helm. The Bills are a decent spoiler, but the Vikes should be able to run all day on them.

MIAMI -4.5 over Cleveland
Colt McCoy hasn’t been cleared to practice yet, so stay away from the Browns with Jake Delhomme starting.

Jacksonville +3.5 over TENNESSEE
It wasn’t just Rusty Smith who looked bad last week against the Texans; Chris Johnson looked atrocious. The Jags are frisky team coming down the stretch.

KANSAS CITY -10 over Denver
The Broncos blew out the Chiefs in Denver earlier this season and I think that Kansas City will return the favour here.

Washington +8 over NEW YORK GIANTS
The Giants have not played great at their new stadium and are still ailing at the wide receiver position. You have to like the points here.

Chicago -3 over DETROIT
The Lions are going with Drew Stanton at QB, so don’t expect a strong game from Detroit’s passing attack.

San Francisco +10 over GREEN BAY
Troy Smith’s stability is leading the Niners back to the top of the NFC West. SF won’t win, but should keep it within double digits.

New Orleans -7 over CINCINNATI
The Bengals are one of the worst teams against the spread this season and the Saints are improving every week.

Atlanta -2 over TAMPA BAY
This one should be a great game, but the Bucs have yet to beat a real contender.

SAN DIEGO -13.5 over Oakland
Plain and simple, the Chargers own the Raiders and are just too good for them, especially in December.

Carolina +7 over SEATTLE
The Seahawks showed last week that maybe their home-field advantage is a bit overrated. The Cats haven’t looked horrible recently either.

INDIANAPOLIS -5 over Dallas
Now here’s a secondary that Peyton Manning can definitely exploit. The honeymoon’s over for Jason Garrett.

St. Louis -3 over ARIZONA
Sam Bradford is looking pretty legit as an NFL starter. Derek Anderson is not.

BALTIMORE -2.5 over Pittsburgh
Two night games between division rivals and two possible games of the year. The Steelers nearly defeated the Ravens with Charlie Batch at QB earlier this seaosn, but that was in Pittsburgh and there’re a few doubts about Ben Roethlisberger’s foot flying around.
NEW ENGLAND -3.5 over New York Jets
With the Pats and Jets, you have to expect New England to do enough to pull away and stop the cardiac Jets from a late comeback, like they have been doing a lot lately.

This week: 1-0-0
Last week:  8-8-0
This season: 95-78-5

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Can the Rams win the West?

- October 4th, 2010

At the beginning of this season, I would have thought it a big long shot, but after watching the handle division rival Seattle on Sunday, I’m starting to buy into Sam Bradford’s crew. Now, I’m not going as far as to say they will make the playoffs – and would most likely be a double-digit underdog at home – but when a division looks bad enough that a team going 7-9 could win it, why not pick an underdog that’s currently at 2-2?

St. Louis even ended their horrendous streak of losing division games at home, something that has haunted them for seasons. And now, with an actual crowd backing them, their home turf could turn into a valuable advantage when teams come in.

From now on, I’m going to be keeping one eye on Sam Bradford’s performance, and I may even grab him in a fantasy league or two. He could start paying off sooner than anyone expected.

Another thing that I would like to bet on: The Bills having the worst record in the league. If you watched anything that happened yesterday, you would probably agree with that statement. It might even be worth it to check out the line on them going winless. Yes, this team is that bad.

This week: 7-6 (with Miami tonight)
This season: 35-26

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