WEEK 13 RESULTS

This week Ben Tate exploded for 28 points on my bench as I took yet another loss.

Thus concludes my 2013 regular season.  There won't be a post-season for Team THUNDER.

I'll analyze this mediocrity in one last post next week.  In the off-season I'll finish the 2012 story -- sometime.  Stay tuned!

wikipedia

Josh Gordon  49.5

BIG THREE
QB	R. Wilson	29.1
RB	Ben Tate	28.2
WR	Dez Bryant	19.1

3 -10

WEEKS 10,11,12 : RESULTS

It seems appropriate when my internet is down for 3 weeks that I reel off 3 straight losses to go along with it.  This way I can just lump them all together in one post and save you the drama beforehand.

I just suck this year.  There were 5 games that I "coulda won."  But even in hindsight I see very little wrong with the way I set my lineups.  Perhaps I'll study this a bit more before the 2014 season and see if I have a different perspective.

BIG THREE
RB	Gio Bernard	23.5
QB	R. Wilson	21.5
WR	T.Y. Hilton	20.0

3 - 7

Wikipedia

Demaryius Thomas  35.8

BIG THREE
RB	R. Jennings	22.8
DS	Bengals	20.0
QB	R. Wilson	18.5

3 - 8

 

Wikipedia

Bobby Rainey  36.7 

BIG THREE
QB	Dez Bryant	17.6
RB	R. Jennings	16.2
QB	M. Glennon	16.2

3 - 9

 

Wikipedia

Josh Gordon  43.7

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Week 10 : Roster Moves : Rashad Jennings

 Incredibly enough, despite McFadden's injury, I picked him up after a 30-point week for my remaining 17 dollars.  Welcome to the team, Rashad Jennings...



QB  Wilson (3 - 2 / 19.7)

WR   Bryant (3 - 6 / 18.8)

QB  Glennon  (0 - 0 / 16.7)

 TE  Thomas (2 - 3 / 16.5)

RB   Gore (2 - 5 / 15.2)


 WR   Hilton (2 - 2 / 14.9)
 RB   Bernard (3 - 2 / 14.3)
 WR   Shorts (2 - 3/ 13.6) 
RB  Starks (1 - 0 / 11.2)

PK   Hartley (1 - 4 / 10.0)

PK  Bailey (2 - 1 / 9.9)
RB   Miller (0 - 0 / 9.6)
RB   Tate    (0 - 0 / 8.5)

 RB   Jennings  (0 - 0 / 8.3)
TE   Wright  (1 - 0 / 7.7)

DS   Bengals (3 - 6 / 7.2)


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WEEK 9 RESULTS

This was the week I was supposed to lose.  Byes for Gore and Julius Thomas, and pretty much bad match-ups across the board.  But when Gio Bernard led off with 26 points on Thursday night, I knew I had a chance.  Russell Wilson quietly sneaked into the Top Ten points leaders with another solid performance, 26 points. The Buccaneers rookie tight end, Tim Wright, came through with 16.

But despite that, I fell behind 45 points at one point against a bunch of 20-plussers between Peterson, Rivers, and Tony Gonzales.  On Sunday Night TY Hilton exploded for 3 touchdowns and 37 points -- giving me a 10-point lead!  Here's the fun part...

I told my neighbor that, with a 14-point lead, I felt pretty good if James Starks gave me 10 points versus Brandon Marshall.  Well, the Fantasy Football Gods have a sense of humor -- he got EXACTLY 10 points!  And that 10.00 was good enough to win by less than half a point.

wikipedia

Andre Johnson  49.9

BIG THREE
WR	T.Y. Hilton	37.1
RB	Gio Bernard	26.4
QB	R. Wilson	26.3

3 - 6



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Week 9 : Roster Moves : James Starks

 I bid low on Kenny Stills because I thought I could get away with a 24-dollar bid.  And "maybe" I bid on him half-heartedly and "maybe" I'm sort of relieved I didn't get him.  He gets very few targets per game -- like less than 3 -- and he's a hit-or-miss homerun hitter despite his 28-point performance.

I bid 24 on another player.  Welcome to the team, James Starks...

He's averaging 6 yards a carry for the year, went 7 - 57 and a TD on his return from the injury, and is expected to carry more of the load.  I know, it's the Packers run game -- but what's not to love about a Monday Night matchup with Chicago!  With Gore, Shorts, and Julius Thomas on byes, I'm playing him.  It may be his only start, but this is how desperate I am against a bunch of studs this week.  I dropped Hartline.

I dropped the Rams defense.  After the Bengals 21-point performance, I'm ready to take them all the way.  I picked up David Nelson, now wide receiver for the Jets.  He's put up back-to-back double-digit performances after coming back from last year's injury and had 11 targets last week.  I think he has star-potential and want to see what he does on the bench.

I dropped Jermaine Gresham.  With Julius Thomas on bye, I finally had an opportunity to start the Bengals tight end, who's shown consistency all year.  But instead I opted to go with the up-and-coming rookie in Tampa with a new quarterback that likes him -- Tim Wright.

WR   Bryant (2 - 6 / 19.6)

QB   Wilson (2 - 2 / 18.9) 

QB  Smith  (0 - 1 / 17.5)

 TE  Thomas (2 - 3 / 16.5)

RB   Gore (2 - 5 / 15.2)

WR   Shorts (2 - 3/ 13.6)  
 RB   Bernard (2 - 2 / 12.8)
 WR   Hilton (1 - 2 / 11.7)
RB  Starks (0 - 0 / 11.4)

PK   Hartley (1 - 4 / 9.8)

PK  Bailey (1 - 1 / 9.8)
RB   Miller (0 - 0 / 8.5)
RB   Tate    (0 - 0 / 8.5)

 WR   Nelson  (0 - 0 / 8.3)

DS   Bengals (2 - 6 / 7.6)

TE   Wright  (0 - 0 / 6.7)

Wilson, Russell    SEA QB (Bucs)
Bernard, Giovani    CIN RB (Dolphins)
Starks, James    GB RB (Bears)
Bryant, Dez    DAL WR (Vikings)
Hilton, TY    IND WR (Texans)
Bailey, Dan   DAL PK (Vikings)
Bengals, Cincinnati    CIN Def (Dolphins)

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WEEK 8 RESULTS

The Bengals defense puts up 21 points!  Team THUNDER wins again!

Wikipedia
Megatron    52.9

BIG THREE
WR	Dez Bryant	22.3
DS	Bengals	21.0
QB	Alex Smith	21.0

2 - 6

I hesitate to say this because it sounds ridiculous : My 2 - 6 record gets me back in the wild card race!  Because 6 teams make the playoffs, I find myself 1 game out of the 3rd wild card spot.  There are four 3 - 5 teams.  I'm playing one of them this coming week...

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WEEK 7 RESULTS

TEAM THUNDER PRESERVES 1ST WIN!

 I'm not exactly fist-pumping but I did breathe a sigh of relief getting this monkey off my back.  It didn't hurt when Russell Wilson put up 24 on Thursday night, to lead things off.  Then I got to watch Gore poke it in the end zone twice to give me a comfortable lead for awhile.  Lombardi closed the gap, however, and I had to sweat it a bit Sunday Night as Julius Thomas put up 15.

Wikipedia
Megatron     36.5

BIG THREE
RB	Frank Gore	24.4
QB	R. Wilson	24.3
WR	Dez Bryant	19.0

1 - 6



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Week 7 : Roster Moves : Rams Defense

What do you really do when you're 0 - 6 ?

QB   Wilson (0 - 2 / 19.4) 

WR   Bryant (0 - 6 / 19.3) 

 TE  Thomas (0 - 3 / 18.5)

QB  Smith  (0 - 1 / 16.7)

 RB   Bernard (0 - 2 / 14.6)
WR   Hartline (0 - 2 / 14.0)
 WR   Shorts (0 - 3/ 13.0) 
WR   Hilton (0 - 2 / 12.8)
 RB   Gore (0 - 5 / 12.7)

WR   Royal  (0 - 1 / 11.7) 

PK   Hartley (0 - 4 / 10.6)

PK  Bailey (0 - 1 / 9.3)
RB   Tate    (0 - 0 / 8.6)
RB   Miller (0 - 0 / 8.0)

 TE   Gresham (0 - 0 / 7.5)

DS   Bengals (0 - 6 / 6.6) 

I dropped Eddie Royal for the Rams defense.

Wilson, Russell    SEA QB  (Cardinals)
Bernard, Giovani    CIN RB  (Lions)
Gore, Frank    SFO RB  (Titans)
Bryant, Dez    DAL WR  (Eagles)
Hilton, T.Y.    IND WR  (Broncos)
Thomas, Julius    DEN TE  (Colts)
Bailey, Dan    DAL PK  (Eagles)
Rams, St. Louis    STL Def  (Panthers)


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WEEK 6 RESULTS

You know you're having a bad year when your opponent's best player puts up a goose egg and still blows you out!  Going 0 - 6 doesn't make good fodder for a blog.

So, let's change the subject.  Last year's cellar-dweller, the Kansas City Chiefs are 6 - 0 under Alex Smith's leadership.  The Denver Broncos are 6 - 0.  They meet later this year.

 wikipedia

Vernon Davis   38.0

BIG THREE
RB	Gio Bernard	22.0
QB	R. Wilson	16.3
TE	J. Thomas	12.2

0 - 6




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Week 6 : Roster Moves : Alex Smith

My goal this week : Get 3 players, including Hilton, into that second tier of 15-plussers. If I could outbid anyone with my remaining $48 I'd try to pick up Keenan Allen, rookie wide receiver for the Chargers. 

 WR   Bryant (0 - 5 / 21.5)

QB  Hoyer (0 - 1 / 15.4)

TE  Thomas (0 - 2 / 19.8)
QB   Wilson (0 - 2 / 19.0)
WR   Shorts (0 - 2 / 15.6)

 WR   Hilton (0 - 1 / 13.5)

WR   Royal  (0 - 1 / 13.9) 

WR   Hartline (0 - 2 / 14.0)
TE   Daniels (0 - 2 / 13.4)

 RB   Bernard (0 - 2 / 13.1)

RB   Gore (0 - 4 / 13.2)
PK   Hartley (0 - 4 / 11.0)

 TE   Gresham (0 - 0 / 8.5)
RB   Tate    (0 - 0 / 8.0)
RB   Miller (0 - 0 / 8.0)

DS   Bengals (0 - 5 / 6.8) 

A bid of $60 got Keenan Allen.  Other notable pickups included Rueben Randle ($75), Harry Douglas ($60), Scott Chandler ($55), Donald Brown ($40), and about 15 other waivers and transactions -- it's been a busy week.  After missing my bid, I decided to plug a couple holes in my bye weeks off free waivers.  After all, I had Brian Hoyer and Owen Daniels sitting with long-term injuries.

Welcome to the team Alex Smith and Dan Bailey:

Wikipedia

Alex Smith

As I mentioned before, I really only intended to fill in some bye weeks.  But after a quick analysis, I suddenly found myself starting them this week!  Smith has slightly better numbers the past few weeks than Russell Wilson -- and he's playing the Raiders instead of Wilson's tough assignment versus Tennessee.

I opted to start Dan Bailey because he's playing on Sunday Night versus the Washington Redskins -- a nice recipe, in my opinion.

 Smith, Alex    KC QB (Raiders)
Gore, Frank     SFO RB (Cardinals)
Bryant, Dez    DAL WR (Redskins)
Hilton, T.Y.    IND WR (Chargers)
Shorts, Cecil    JAC WR (Broncos)
Thomas, Julius    DEN TE (Jaguars)
Bailey, Dan    DAL PK (Redskins)
Bengals, Cincinnati    CIN Def (Bills)


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WEEK 5 RESULTS

Goal:  Eclipse 100 points for the first time this year...

Finally, despite the Hoyer injury, it seemed I was finally in a game -- with big performances from Dez Bryant Julius Thomas.  After a decent performance from Frank Gore on Sunday Night, I felt pretty good about my 30-point lead, but uneasy about the unusual late late game (to accommodate the Oakland A's playoff) in which my opponent had Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead.  .

Wikipedia

Tony Romo  42.9

My 133 point effort wasn't good enough.  If I'd known to start my optimal lineup, of course, I would have scored 180 points.   This is par for the course, this year.  But hey, I accomplished my weekly goal!

BIG THREE
TE	J. Thomas	33.2
WR	Dez Bryant	32.1
WR	T.Y. Hilton	31.0

0 - 5



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WEEK 4 RESULTS

As the Fitzgerald-Palmer connection continued to sputter, I knew I could improve at tight end with Julius Thomas.  The Denver Broncos scored 52 points.  Thomas got 8 fantasy points.  Fitzgerald, the player I traded for him, scored 19.  Even Owen Daniels outscored Thomas -- 13.  

courtesy Wikipedia

Tony Gonzalez   33.9

BIG THREE
WR	Dez Bryant	26.1
RB	Frank Gore	21.3
QB	B. Hoyer	19.4

0 - 4

A record of 7 - 6 gives Team THUNDER a shot at the playoffs.  That would be a pretty optimistic long shot considering I'd have to win seven of my last nine.  My season may be over before it even begins.  Perhaps this would be a good time to start setting weekly goals.  First goal : Score 100 points in a game...

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Week 4 : Roster Moves : Julius Thomas

 Farewell to the Cardinal Connection.  Now that I'm the only winless team in the league, and not knowing if I can start the troubling Larry Fitzgerald, I didn't waste any time trading him for someone I felt would help me this week.  It's a horrible-looking trade.  It may come back to bite me.  But I simply didn't want to waste any time and not get any improvements made this week.  Going 0 - 4 would be certain doom.  If I manage to win, I'll just have to find a way to straighten out this mess.

Incidentally, I traded him to the team I'm playing this week, Rosenhaus Factor.  He's in first place in my division and did not waste any time inserting Fitz into his lineup. I'm crossing my fingers this could be a double-whammy for him -- me picking up points with my new tight end while Fitz continues to struggle with that hammy. I'm really rolling the dice on this one.  Who'd I get?  Welcome to the team, Julius Thomas...

courtesy Wikipedia

Julius Thomas

My other move may not look quite as ridiculous.  I dropped Carson Palmer and picked up Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer for free off waivers.  He's such a great story leading Cleveland to such an unlikely victory.  He's not afraid to air it out, either.  This one's a gunslinger -- I'll take a stab at him!

Part 3 of my radical game-plan did not come to fruition.  I pretty much offered 3-for-1 with the 2nd-place team in my division R35's.  I offered Cecil Shorts, Russell Wilson, and Jermaine Gresham for Stafford, Starks, and Broyles.  I believe it's a great deal for him in that all three of my players will probably have better stats than all 3 of his by year's end!  Additionally, with Stafford's matchup against the Bears (Wilson goes against the Texans), I feel I would have had a much better chance of winning this week's game versus Rosenhaus -- which is good for both of us.    It looks like Wilson's the man.  And after his big game last week, perhaps it's just as well that I stick with him.



QB  Hoyer (0 - 0 / 24.6)

TE  Thomas (0 - 0 / 19.1)
WR   Shorts (0 - 0 / 15.5)

 RB   Bernard (0 - 0 / 14.5)

 WR   Royal  (0 - 1 / 18.9) 

 QB   Wilson (0 - 1 / 18.7)

WR   Hartline (0 - 1 / 17.9) 

TE   Daniels (0 - 2 / 14.0)

 PK   Hartley (0 - 2 / 10.3)
WR   Bryant (0 - 3 / 16.4)

RB   Gore (0 - 3 / 10.3)

 RB   Tate    (0 - 0 / 9.5)
 TE   Gresham (0 - 0 / 9.3)
RB   Miller (0 - 0 / 8.3)
 WR   Hilton (0 - 1 / 8.9)

DS   Bengals (0 - 3 / 7.3)

Of course Frank Gore has a tremendous Thursday night on the week I don't start him -- 153 yards rushing and a touchdown.  Oh well.  After setting my lineup according to my worksheet in Week 3 and then making last-minute changes, it cost me the win-- and I'm not doing it 2 weeks in a row.  Now it's up to these guys...


Wilson, Russell    SEA QB (Texans)
Bernard, Giovani    CIN RB (Browns)
Bryant, Dez     DALWR (Chargers)
Hartline, Brian    MIA WR (Saints)
Shorts, Cecil    JAC WR (Colts)
Thomas, Julius    DEN TE (Eagles)
Hartley, Garrett       NOS PK (Dolphins)
Bengals, Cincinnati    CIN Def (Browns)


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