IDP Rankings, Week 4: Another Borland?

October 1, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, 2015 IDP Rankings, 2015 IDP Report | 19 Comments

Period	Accuracy	Ranking	High	Low	Percentile
Week 3	50.40%	10 out of 20	60.60%	37.00%	Top 50%
2015	60.9%	3 out of 19	62.7%	49.5%	Top 20%

In IDP leagues, it’s rare for a player to come completely out of nowhere. So much of a defensive player’s stats comes down to opportunity (rather than talent), and it is typically pretty clear who will be on the field each week. Chris Borland is an obvious exception, and he led many teams to championships in 2014. I’m not saying that he’ll be this year’s Borland, but Jordan Hicks is off to a better start than anyone could have imagined. After coming in for the injured Mychal Kendricks and Kiko Alonso, he put up 7 tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble in Week 2. He outdid himself last week in his first start, with 10 tackles, and interception and a fumble recovery. Most impressively to me, Hicks was on the field for 23 more snaps than presumptive starter DeMeco Ryans. The immediate (and long-term) future is cloudy for both Kendricks and Alonso, but as long as they’re out, Hicks looks like a must-start.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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Rankings, Week 4: A Return to Normalcy

October 1, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, 2015 Weekly Rankings | 157 Comments

by: Jay

Period	Accuracy	Rank	High	Low	Percentile
Week 3	59.1%	18 out of 134	65.0%	42.1%	Top 15%
Week 2	53.4%	85 out of 135	65.2%	46.2%	Top 65%
Week 1	56.8%	54 out of 137	62.8%	46.3%	Top 40%
2015	56.4%	34 out of 132	60.8%	48.0%	Top 30%
2014	58.1%	31 out of 125	60.7%	50.6%	Top 25%

As the title states (as do the numbers) we are back to kicking ass and chewing bubble gum. And boy am I out of bubble gum. In last week’s rankings post, I mentioned that we would be putting forth a new process for ranking players (or I guess in this case, returning to my original process), and the results were telling. Small sample size (that’s what she said) will always been an issue, but I think the numbers produced were promising, and I’ll be keeping with the same methodology to better serve your Fantasy Football Teams. Here are your Week 4 Rankings…

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Who Are These Guys?, Week 4: I’m a Free Man

September 30, 2015 | 2015 Daily Fantasy, 2015 Roster Strategy | 38 Comments

by: malamoney

I really wish Devonta’s last name was Soulman. I’m a soul man would have been a much better title and then I could have linked you to a Youtube clip from the movie. Oh there’s a song too? I guess I could provide a link to that as well. Here’s week three’s team.

POS	Name	Points	Owned
QB	Andy Dalton	31.32	52%
RB	Devonta Freeman	39.8	63%
RB	Chris Johnson	27.5	42%
WR	Rishard Matthews	26.3	32%
WR	Rueben Randle	21.1	28%
TE	Gary Barnidge	19.5	0%
FL	Marvin Jones	17.9	20%
DST	Vikings	15	11%
K	Josh Brown	13	37%

Last week’s team combined for 201.84 points. Even that monster performance would fall short of this week’s selections. This group of waiver wire fodder has joined forces to score 211.42 points. Man… I need a freaking time machine so that I can get a hold of these posts a week early. Anyone have any leads on a flux capacitor?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Smokey Says, Week 4: Duke Gives ‘Em the Shocker

September 30, 2015 | 2015 Buy/Sell, 2015 Fantasy Football | 19 Comments

by: Smokey

When at the bottom, where else is there to go but up? Well, I guess for the quitters, you can just wallow for a bit, which basically in one sentence just summed up the Cleveland Browns football team. One look at the team and it’s obvious why they want Johnny Manziel at the helm. Because he looks sorta good, but not McCown bad. So it’s like dollar store loving in the 216. Since we already established that the quarterback situation is an awful boxed lunch of fantasy uselessness, lets move onto a position that may be helpful for you. One look at the Browns running back game and it’s pretty awful, but awful is where I come in point a finger and say: Hey, wait a minute! It may look ugly now, but take a deeper look at the plight of the Browns foot patrol. It’s supposedly led by Isiah Crowell. Totally exciting right? Well feast your eyes this week on someone different, Duke Johnson. The rookie RB will be a fantasy sneak-a-saurus this week, and I am here to be your crossing guard in the game of life, where life is all about fantasy.

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Disgrace and Delight, Week 4: The Rodfather is Here, Kiss the Ring

September 30, 2015 | 2015 Buy/Sell, 2015 Fantasy Football | 161 Comments

by: LT Murray IV

Greetings! What a time to be alive! We’ve all been allowed to witness the glorious gift of the Elder Gods, Tyrod Taylor, make gizzards out of three opposing secondaries. This young legend was COMPLETELY left out of a certain ESPN analyst’s weekly quarterback rankings last week, and I for one believe he deserves to be fired for committing such a despicable act of disgracefulness. After Blake Bortles treated their secondary like a porta-potty the previous week, any respectable man would have to assume Tygod would drop a double-dose of feces on those peasants. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills! What are people not seeing?! This stallion has every skill-set imaginable and should only improve from here on out. I’m a TAD concerned with Taylor not having Watkins and McCoy in the arsenal this week against the Giants, but I believe he’ll make up for that just by taking off and running a lot more. By the way, the Giants are DEAD LAST in the NFL in pass yards given up. Suck that in for a second. Oooohweeee, the Rodfather is a top-5 option this week at QB and a must-own in all formats. If you wanna keep hating, I’ll grant you a front row seat into my induction into the “writers wing” of the NFL Hall of Fame (as long as Jay continues editing my work).

I am Tehol Beddict and this is, Disgrace/Delight! Take heed!

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Through the Wire, Week 4: Karlos the Jackal

September 29, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, 2015 Waiver Wire | 157 Comments

by: Geoff

Ahhhhh Fantasy Football, how I loathe you. Gentlemen and four ladies, we’re living in a world where Larry Fitzgerald, Dion Lewis, and Tyrod Taylor have more points than early rounders like DeMarco Murray, LeSean McCoy, and the bane of my existence, C.J. Anderson. Speaking of Crunk Juice Anderson, can I vent for a minute? I can? Thanks! So I’ve been playing in a league with some of my former co-workers for about nine years now. [Jay’s Note: This sounds familiar, almost as if I’ve read about this somewhere…] Over the years, the league has developed into a 14 team 0.5 ppr league with two keepers that can only be kept for a single year. For the first time in the league’s history, I missed the playoffs last year. Mostly due to a costly oversight on my part where I let Marshawn Lynch go as a first-round keeper for lesser players I perceived to be “better value”. Coming into this season, I found myself in a seemingly “better” situation with C.J. Anderson essentially free as a last-round keeper. I built a rather formidable squad on paper around Anderson drafting Antonio Brown, Peyton Manning, Jimmy Graham, and Lamar Miller. Not bad right? Well I’m 0-3, and the laughing stock of the league once again. Damn you Crunk Juice! Now, I’m not going to say all of those aforementioned lads are without fault this season, but none of them have sucked quite as bad as Anderson. So here’s the question I’ll pose for today: When is it time to move on from a player you heavily invested in? I’m not there yet with Anderson, but Ronnie Hillman is sitting on my bench and I wouldn’t be upset if Anderson missed a few games with an injury. Not wishing it on the guy, but it would make it easier to move on. Right? Anyway, we got byes this week and you might need to fill in a few spots, or maybe you own a sh*tbird or two you’re looking to dump. Well, not to worry, I have plenty of suggestions to fill your voids. Wait… what?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Bear or Bull: M&M’s

September 29, 2015 | 2015 Buy/Sell, 2015 Fantasy Football | 16 Comments

by: Son

After the conclusion of the 2014 NFL season, the clock was on for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who “won” the right to select No. 1 in the NFL Draft. There was nary a doubt that they would select a quarterback with the top choice. Sorry to all the Josh McCown and Mike Glennon fan club members out there. The question became which one: Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota?

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Love to Hate, Week 4: Eifert in Your General Direction

September 29, 2015 | 2015 Buy/Sell, 2015 Fantasy Football | 50 Comments

by: Brandon

Hello Razzball! This is the first in a series of weekly articles written by yours truly that will be looking into each of the week’s match-ups and picking out one player I Love and one player that I Hate from each game. Before I get into this week’s picks, I’ll give some background into how I make my picks. The first thing I look at is the Vegas betting lines, specifically the point spread and the over/under totals. These are two huge factors when making picks, especially for daily fantasy sites. If I’m ever debating between two similarly rated players for my Flex position, checking out the point totals could be a deciding factor for me. Of course, between now and kickoff, some of the lines could change by a few points, so it is important to check these again later in the week after some injury situations are cleared up. I’m also going to try and avoid making the obvious picks, as those won’t help anybody. Now, onto the picks!

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Packin’ in the Rain

September 29, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 120 Comments

by: Jay

HISTORY IN THE MAKING PEOPLE

In what was an oft-rainy night an Lambeau Field (IF ONLY IT WERE SNOW, WE’D ALL EXPLODE), our long national nightmare finally ended. No, Alex Smith did not retire. Instead, he finally threw a touchdown to a receiver (shown above), something that hadn’t happened in the Chiefs last 17 games. Or, in calendar terms, not since December 8th, 2013. Folks, Andy Reid’s long con has finally paid off. That being said, it’s so very Chiefs that the record-breaking extravaganza for a useless stat occurred in a game in which they basically got blown out. The garbage time was strong with this one (even almost bringing the game within one possession with 1:25 to play before botching the two-point conversion), but it’s abundantly clear that the Chiefs may not be that good at the footballs. In a striking follow-up point, the Packers have shown that they might be pretty good at the footballs. If someone made a movie based on my time here at Razzball, it would be called: An Analytical Life. Or quite possibly WHERE ARE MY DATES? I WAS PROMISED DATES. But enough about myself and my movies, let’s make fun of Alex Smith more…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Monday Night Football Live Thread, Week 3: Chiefs vs. Packers

September 28, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, 2015 GameDay Notes | 32 Comments

by: Jay

After giving away a win to Peyton Manning and the Broncos last week, the Chiefs look to move to 2-1 against the Packers who are from the bay that is green. I believe that’s also the name of a Dr. Seuss poem. Or maybe I’m just a poetic person. OR MAYBE WHO CARES. Much like how I feel about this game. Sure, on paper the match-up is interesting, only because the principle cast involves guys like Jamaal Charles, Randall Cobb, Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy… okay, I’m seeing a theme here. The principle cast is essentially from Milwaukee. But don’t let that dissuade you from not being entertained, we actually get another chance in our lives to see if Andy Reid will find some way to psychically eat his timeouts. I’m assuming he’s done so with the challenge flags, thinking they were ribs with ketchup on them. The game will essentially come down to how healthy Eddie Lacy and Davante Adams are, both suffering from ankle injuries this week. Both have practiced this week and are probable for tonight’s game, but if we’ve learned anything from semi-injured players miraculously being able to be suit up for their games this year, it’s that they’ll break your hearts and then punch them in the crotch. A heart-crotch punch, if you will. (See Anderson, C.J..) I’d say we’re in for an interesting game, but since it’s Monday Night Football, I’ll just say we’re in for a game. A football game, hopefully.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Big Ben Down

September 28, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 78 Comments

by: Jay

Ben Roethlisberger was forced from yesterday’s game against the Rams when Mark Barron fell onto his leg, bending it awkwardly. While my initial reaction was to breathe a sigh of relief for all the women out there who are mobile enough to out-run a one-legged man, my next reaction was that this looked to be a season-ending leg injury. As of now, the prognosis has gone from leg implosion to ACL injury to MCL sprain, which normally takes around six weeks to recover from. Still, while the news improved throughout the day, this remains a huge blow to not just Roethlisberger, but also to the entire Steelers offense. I doubt Michael Vick ever wanted to start another NFL game again, but here he is, ready to provide clumsy pocket-presence mixed with a canon arm that fires anywhere and everywhere you don’t want it to. So basically a worse Ben Roethlisberger. While Heath Miller probably will stay the same (for now and eternity), Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Martavis Bryant (when he returns) will likely have some issues to contend with. Le’Veon Bell benefits the most, as check-downs need to go somewhere, and there will be even more emphasis on the Steelers rushing game. That being said, it can be a double-edged sword when defenses start game-planning against such things, so we’ll have to see what kind of magic Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley has ready to go. Haha, Steelers are screwed. But don’t worry, Big Ben’s third leg still works ladies! (Whether you like it or not…)

Here’s what else I saw in Week 3…

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Sunday Night Football Live Thread, Week 3: Broncos vs. Lions

September 27, 2015 | 2015 Fantasy Football, 2015 GameDay Notes | 16 Comments

by: Jay

In what is an interesting match-up, if only because we rarely get to see it (I’VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF IT), the Broncos travel to Detroit to find out if last week’s fourth quarter “Manning being just being Manning” is actually repeatable. Much has been said of Denver’s lack of any rushing attack, mainly because of C.J. Anderson’s toe. Which seems ridiculous. I mean, you want a toe? I can get you a toe, believe me. There are ways, Dude. I can get you a toe by three o’clock this afternoon… There are some reports that Ronnie Hillman could start splitting carries, but I’m assuming the Broncos prefer positive rushing yardage, so I’m still in the Anderson camp, health and s’mores permitting. The Lions have started 0-2, I think mainly because Matt Stafford forgot that he has a thing called Calvin Johnson on his team. A stifling (I’m running out of adjectives) Broncos defense will continue to make that relationship tense (I’m running out of metaphors), but both offenses are capable of putting up yards. I for one hope this is the most amazing game in the history of games, only because with Drew Brees looking doubtful in Week 4, we’ll have a Sunday Night Football game that features Luke McCown and Brandon Weeden coming up. Jesus.

Please, blog, may I have some more?