In 1983, David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear. Years later, he walked through the Great Wall of China. Year after year, he dazzled audiences with his mastery of illusion, sleight of hand, and showmanship. I have watched every television special, seen him live nearly 10 times, and have learned several of his secrets over the years. David Copperfield is the reason magic has become what it is today. But sadly, when magic is at the height of its popularity in what seems to be the era of the street magician and cutting edge in your face magic, he has appeared to disappear.
A good magician learns how to blend into the crowd, how to merge into the background. Employing a very old concept known as the “black art principle”, magicians have fooled laymen since the late 1800s. The “black art principle” says that anything painted black cannot be seen when placed against a black background. [Jay’s Note: Dat’s raycess.] David Copperfield is still alive and well. He still performs regularly at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and if you are out that way, I highly recommend seeing his show. But what’s even more amazing than his show is Musha Cay. Musha what? Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay are over 700 acres of secluded luxury hidden among the outer islands of the Exumas (Bahamas). For those interested in vacationing there, it will only cost you $39,0000 a day. But that is for up to 12 people, so it’s really just $3250 a person. When you win your league you might want to give this place a consideration. Or how about a destination draft?
Okay, enough of the nonsense. While David isn’t making things disappear perhaps his best magic trick is his ability to put together the most unexpected fantasy football lineups using players from the waiver wire and outscore any team of studs. Here’s a look at the lineup he chose for last week which combined for 172.88 fantasy points in Yahoo! half point leagues.
QB: Derek Carr (26.48)
RB: Theo Riddick (16.60)
RB: Antone Smith (14.90)
WR: Andre Holmes (26.10)
WR: Brandon LaFell (23.70)
TE: Jace Amaro (17.80)
FL: Robert Woods (19.30)
K: Mike Nugent (15.00)
DST: Tennessee Titans (13)
But how man of these juggernauts should you be willing to roster?
Antone Smith scores big touchdowns. That sounds like a tee shirt or a bumper sticker. Despite his limited touches Smith now has a touchdown in 5 of his 6 games this season. He is the 13th highest scoring running back in my ESPN PPR league and, as of yesterday, is owned in under 30% of Yahoo! leagues. This needs to change. The scary thing about Smith is his usage. We just don’t know how he is going to be used, but with 2 rushing and 3 receiving touchdowns and 5 plays of over 20 yards, Atlanta has to find a way get him more involved. If you have a guy on your bench that is expendable, I would consider swapping him out with Smith.
Theo Riddick got a shot at passing down reps last week with Reggie Bush out. On 3 carries he tallied 6 yards, but in the air he had 5 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Those are some decent numbers. With Reggie expected back soon and lingering hamstring issues, I’m taking a pass on the chronicles of Riddick.
Brandon LaFell on the other hand is someone that has gotten my attention over the last few weeks. This week he had 4 receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. In week 4 he caught 4 of 6 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown. If it wasn’t for the stinker in week 5 against the Bengals where the Patriots scored 43 points I think everyone would be LeFalling all over LaFell. I think there is some opportunity for Brandon in New England, but with all the other options that Tom Brady has I think he is more of a deep league option. I will continue to keep an eye on him to see if this changes.
Perhaps you missed it, but Andre Holmes had 2 touchdowns last week against the Chargers. Am I excited? Not incredibly. Has he peaked my interest? Well he did make it to this list, so I guess he has. He seems more like a boom or bust type of player to me and is still behind James Jones as the goto receiver in Oakland. He goes up against Arizona this weekend who has given up its share of big plays in the secondary.
Last week I mentioned that Jace Amaro was the tight end to be owned for the New York Jets. That meant if you had to own a New York Jets tight end. I wouldn’t own either of them. There are just too many other options for me to roster Amaro. And way to go Mike Nugent on securing your team a tie by missing that chip shot field goal at the end of overtime.
Who needs studs? Not me!!! I’ll be back next week with another list of “losers” that will make you a winner…
