WEEK 8 RESULTS

The last-minute pick-up of the Miami Dolphins turned out to be a wise move.

But I pretty much did everything else wrong this week.  I was full of indecision and, at last-minute, inserted Eddie Royal into the Thursday Night lineup. My thinking was that Peyton was going to light up the Chargers and San Diego would have to throw a lot.

But even after Royal's no-show, it really looked like Team THUNDER was still in it!  After all, Captain Muff had started Ronnie Hillman and Demaryius Thomas -- and only led by five points.

But I made more mistakes...

Player of the Week : 

After Captain Muff's tight end, Gronkowski, had a monster game early Sunday -- I did a last-minute switch.  I replaced Mark Ingram and Gavin Escobar with Ben Tate and Jordan Cameron.  Another flop.  Cameron left the game with a concussion.  Ingram would go on to have the best game of his career!  I suck.

Not much of an improvement over last week except for two hopefuls.  It's my new "New Orleans Connection" of Brandin Cooks and Mark Ingram.  It's looking like a hope and a prayer that these guys will carry the team for the next two weeks as everyone else goes on a downswing.

BIG THREE
WR	Brandin Cooks	27.8
RB	Mark Ingram	24.5
QB	P. Manning	23.4

I drop again to 3rd place with a mediocre 4 - 4 record.

The great thing about having 6 playoff spots up for grabs is that a team like mine can still be in playoff position!  Incredibly, I am...

But Week Nine is an incredibly important game.  Division match-ups!  I need to improve my division record against the last-place team, 209, while Operation Domination takes on Benchwarmers.  If I can win this one I could probably even split my last four games and still have a shot...

Week 8 : Roster Moves : Gavin Escobar

It was my first week as a bottom-feeder.  The pickins were slim.  But with even more dead weight to unload, I had to find somebody!

For the second time this season I unloaded Andre Williams.  I selected Tampa Bay wide receiver Louis Murphy.  He's posted consistent fantasy numbers all season and gets a lot of targets each week.  I'd like to stash him on the bench one more week to see what he does.  But these are desperate times -- I might play him.

My other drop is Patriots running back, Brandon Bolden.  So much for the speculation he'd be the workhorse -- Vereen did just fine in that role.

I picked up Gavin Escobar, tight end for the Cowboys.  Think he can repeat last week's performance?

I sure hope so --  because I'm starting him!  I'm very uncertain about Jordan Cameron.  Larry Donnell is on bye. I like the idea of Escobar playing Monday Night and can envision an encore performance as the announcers praise him and begin labeling him as the next Jason Witten...

And, what the hell, I really have nothing to lose by rolling the dice with him.

The last I checked, the Miami Dolphins were a 31% add this week.  They're playing the Jaguars, and this seems to be the trend when someone plays Jacksonville.  What the Hell...

"What the Hell" is pretty much the theme this week.  With everyone dropping off or getting injured the past couple weeks, Peyton Manning seems to be a one-man team at the moment.  As soon as someone steps up and performs, I may be able to get things going in the right direction, again.

WEEK 7 RESULTS

Welcome to the "special edition" Week 7 Results.  Why is it special?  Because I'm speechless...

Player of the Week : 

BIG THREE
QB	P. Manning	28.6
TE	L. Donnell	16.0
WR	Steve Smith	09.7

Perplexed.

Week 7 : Roster Moves : Cecil Shorts

With Victor Cruz and Marvin Jones out for the season, it was time to make my last big waiver play of 2014.  With my $43 I went after Raiders wide receiver Andre Holmes.  "Cat Daddy Dance" made a smart bid of $44, but I wasn't terribly disappointed with my alternate at the same price...

Cecil Shorts, welcome to Team THUNDER!

In his only other game when he was healthy he finished with 14 points and a touchdown on 10 targets.  What's not to love?  Oh yeah -- hamstring issues.

I'll take my chances!  He'll most likely start this week.

There was no reason not to pick someone up off free waivers.  I read some speculation that Brandon Bolden might be a better every-down back than Shane Vereen (in the absence of Ridley).  Somebody fire that writer!  Bolden turned out to be a complete non-factor on Thursday Night and probably will not get an opportunity to start for Team THUNDER.

WEEK 6 RESULTS

One thing I've learned over the past couple years is to not put too much emphasis on match-ups when it comes to your studs.  Admittedly, last week's decision to start Eli over Peyton was questionable in this regard.  But now it's back to business.

Player of the Week : 

When I set my lineup, there are players that are automatic starters when they meet simple criteria.  I call it "stud status."  In this league, I take the top three wide receiver/running backs that average over 17 points per game (and something similar with the QB/TE positions).  This season, it's been Gio Bernard and Steve Smith all year.  But as they started to plateau around that 17-point mark this week, I wondered if one of them would lose their "stud status."

As you can see, both Smith and Bernard would retain their stud statuses!

I won, BUT...

Victor Cruz tore up his knee and is out for the season.  In fact, they say this one could ruin his career.

Marvin Jones re-injured himself at practice and is out for the season.

Andre Williams, as a starter for the Giants, was a bust.  His second tenure with Team THUNDER may be short-lived.

Larry Donnell is shut down for the 2nd straight week.  I may be dismantling the entire Giant Connection as soon as the fun began!

BIG THREE
RB	Gio Bernard	25.7
WR	Steve Smith	22.0
QB	P. Manning	21.5

I'm still tied for first at 4 - 2.

My Browns Connection is gaining momentum!  Both Ben Tate and Jordan Cameron seem to be completely back from their injuries (just in the nick of time).  Additionally, Mark Ingram will be back from his injury -- I'll certainly be eager to see what he can do upon his return.

I was bragging a bit about how deep I was last week.  I certainly have a completely different outlook this week!  With 2 season-ending injuries and a couple duds, I'm all-of-a-sudden scrambling for players.  It's clear I'll have to go out and get the best player I can this week with my remaining $43. After that, I become a bottom-feeder off free waivers.

Week 6 : Roster Moves : Andre Williams

Farewell to Eli Manning.  There's no doubt in my mind he'll have a few huge games this year.  But with Peyton on my roster I simply can't justify using up the roster spot for Eli.

Antone Smith of the Falcons was a strong consideration.  He's been averaging over 15 yards per touch over the last two seasons!  And, while the coaching staff seems to be "talking" about giving him more carries, it sounds a bit "iffy."

Brian Tyms, wide receiver for the Patriots, just came back from suspension.  He was the pre-season star for the Patriots and is supposed to be an amazing athlete.  But, how soon is he involved in the game plan?  It's been a long, long time since Tom Brady favored anyone that wasn't a slot receiver or tight end.  I think I need to see quite a few targets before I go after this rookie.

My best bet?  A rookie running back I'd cut loose a few weeks ago, Andre Williams.  

With Rashad Jennings out for a few weeks, Williams became a lead back.  Peyton Hillis probably won't take away many carries, which makes him a very solid #1 right now.  Of course, it is a little frustrating having to spend nearly $100 on a player I've already owned this season.  But if Williams gets me a win or two, I won't complain.

WEEK 5 RESULTS

I did the unthinkable:  I started Eli Manning over Peyton.  Eli had a better game last week.  His PPG was nearly equal Peyton's.  His matchup was better.  And I had no reason to believe the Giants offense wouldn't keep rolling.  And when my opponent's Thursday Night players, Cordarrelle Patterson and Jordy Nelson combined for only 15 points, I really thought I had a lock...

Player of the Week : 

But Team THUNDER just sort of fell flat.  

I'll go ahead and drop Eli so I don't make this same mistake twice.

BIG THREE
QB	P. Manning	34.9
WR	B. Cooks	16.1
QB	Eli Manning	15.7

The good news is I'm still in first place at 3 - 2.  

Despite my off-week, I still feel very deep and at worst an 8 - 5 team when it's all done.  With players like Tate, Cameron, Ingram, and Marvin Jones all coming back from injuries the next few weeks I feel it's time to go ahead and make my last waiver moves -- and I probably only have 1 - 2 big ones left.  I'm due for a good play this week...

Week 5 Roster Moves : Eddie Royal

I've been down this road before.  But how, when the guy averages 24 points per week over the last two and has an overall average of 16, how can you ignore that?  Yes, Eddie Royal, it is with great hesitation that I bid 46 on you -- and I was actually sort of disappointed when I won -- sorry.  Did I immediately insert Mr. Royal into my lineup?  Of course not.

Farewell to Justin Hunter.  Now, what to do with Terrance West.  With Ben Tate returning, and Crowell really playing better than West, I had to consider unloading a healthy running back with a 13.3 average!  I cringe to think about that, but I just don't see how he'll ever get a start for Team THUNDER.  It was time to cut him loose.

I turned my attention to a couple guys on free waivers.

Marvin Jones is coming back from his leg injury.  This may be the guy that completes Cincinatti's offense as a red zone target.  His weak match-ups coincide nicely with my other wide receivers' tougher match-ups.  But just as I was debating if I was really ready to dump West, a news wire came out that Jones tweaked his ankle!  Perhaps that would buy me one week to look at my other prospect...

Brandon LaFell.  After his 24-point performance last week, he has averaged 6 targets per game. Before coming over to the Patriots, his numbers in Carolina improved every year.  The same trend seems to be occurring in New England, where he's pretty much getting more involved every game. These are the pickups I tend to do very well with -- the guys that sort of sneak onto the radar with consistent improvement and become big sleepers.  Welcome to the team...

I think LaFell looks like a great sleeper pick -- I really believe that.  Jones is a #2 that can always put up big numbers.  In the end, I just compared them side-by-side with my other wide receivers and determined that Jones had 3 more opportunities than LaFell to actually get in the lineup and help Team THUNDER.  And that's the most important thing.  What do I care if he's delayed one week with the new ankle injury...

Fact is, Jones may never crack my lineup.  Here I am, on the verge of going 4 - 1 with a skeleton crew. Until I picked up Eli last week I had just one available quarterback, tight end, kicker, and defense -- and just two running backs.

Now, in addition to my new recruits, I have injured players coming back : Jordan Cameron, Ben Tate, and Mark Ingram.  And not even these guys will get into the lineup for a couple weeks.  Heck, both Frank Gore and Eddie Royal scored over 24 points last week -- both of them on the bench this week.

Am I starting to sound cocky?

Things are really shaping up nicely.  Team THUNDER is deep!