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All posts for the month October, 2011

OUR PICKS- The Next Day…

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 31, 2011
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

SHOCKTOBER!

Rams RB (#39) Steven Jackson runs in for 1 of his 2 TD's on the day. Photo: Dilip Vishwantat/Getty Images

Although not part of our Five Best Bets, the shock of the weekend, besides the snow storm which reeked havoc on the Northeast, was the St. Louis Rams’ defeat of the N.O. Saints, 31-21. Steven Jackson went off for 159 yards on 25 carries and 2 TD’s, and incredibly the Rams led 17-0 at halftime. Perhaps they were inspired by some of the basesball Cardinals who were in attendence.Whatever the reason, they played like a team possessed. Props to the Rams!

BILLS over REDSKINS- This was one of our losing two picks yesterday. And it was an ugly one for sure! The Bills beat the Redskins 23-0 in Mike Shanahan’s first shut out in his 24 years in the NFL, either as a head coach or offensive coach. John Beck & the Redskins were not able to muster any offense vs the Bills as they only had 178 total yards of offense; just 26 yards rushing! 75% of their total yards came from the 2 guys we mentioned last week-TE Fred Davis and WR Jabar Gaffney. Beck had pressure on him all day as the Bills, uncharacteristically, sacked him 9 times; 2 shy of their franchise record. Playing in Toronto was different this year than it had been in the 3 previous years. “This was definitely the most exciting crowd we’ve had since we’ve played up here,” said Bills Safety George Wilson.

TE Fred Davis (8-94) provided the only offensive threat for the Redskins, losers of their last three, vs the Bills at the Rogers Center. Photo: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

LIONS over BRONCOS- In our only other loss yesterday, it too was U G L Y and bizarre. Ugly because anytime a team loses by 35 points, it’s ugly! But it was a very strange game if you look at the totals following the massacre. Three things stand out because they were all so very close (for a lopsided game): First downs 21 Lions-19 Broncos, total yards 376-312, and time of possession 29:34 to 30:26. The two stats that just killed the Broncos were the three turnovers and the seven sacks of Tebow. Terrible Tim (18-39) was totally ineffective as he was under pressure throughout the game. No miracle comebacks on this day…The (2-5) Broncos travel to Oakland (4-3) and play in the Black Hole this week.

LB Stephen Tulloch (#55) mocks QB Tim Tebow by "Tebowing" after getting the sack. Photo: Justin Edmunds/Getty Images

Here sre some newsworthy notes on our three wins this week:

TEXANS over JAGUARS- Coming into this game, the Texans were off to their best start (5-2) in franchise history. They beat the Jags yesterday 24-14. So far they have outscored their three games vs division opponents by an overwhelming 98-28 and will need to continue this dominance if they hope to go to their first playoffs in team history.

Texans cheerleaders perform at halftime Sunday vs the Jaguars. Photo: Bob Levey/Getty Images

49ers over BROWNS- The 49ers beat the struggling, injury plagued Cleveland Browns. For the niners it was their fifth win in a row; a feat they haven’t accomplished in a decade (2001). As we’ve mentioned, their staple this year has been their stellar defense. They had four sacks, one INT, and held the Browns to 10 points. Alex Smith had no picks and the steady RB Frank Gore had 31-134-1 on the day. S.F.’s only loss has come vs Dallas-by 3 points. They head East to play the Redskins next and should go to 7-1.

S.F. QB Alex Smith continues to get the job done for the Niners. Photo: AP

GIANTS over DOLPHINS- One thing’s for sure..if the Giants play the way they did yesterday vs the Dolphins, they will not make it to the playoffs this year.. They kept  Miami in the game way too long and then in the fourth quarter decided to play some ‘D’. “I’m starting to see gray hair”, said defensive capitan Justin Tuck. Four of the Giants’ five wins have been won the fourth quarter.

We said that Big Blue should win this game by two touchdowns but that they will probably keep it close. Three points is TOO close if they expect to compete against New England and San Francisco on the road over the next 2 weeks.

Justin Tuck (#91) and Mathias Kiwanuka (#94) combine on the Giants' 4th sack of QB Matt Moore in the fourth quarter. Photo: AP

* Last week 3-2

** Season   22-13

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World Series Champs! It Was All In The CARDS…

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 29, 2011
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Texas goes down in defeat…AGAIN!

Texas Ranger manager Ron Washington looks down and upset after 7th inning walk to Bengie Molina with the bases loaed. Photo: Matt Slocum/Associated Press

“The thrill of victory-the agony of defeat.” That was the mantra spoken by the late Jim Mckay before the ABC sports show Wide World Of Sports aired over 40 years ago. Last night the Rangers felt the ‘agony of defeat’ for the second consecutive time, losing the 107th World Series last night and the 106th last year. That hasn’t been done since Atlanta did it twenty years ago. Unfortunately, they will have to- ‘Wait till next year!’

Cards win their 11th World Series!

Just after the final out in Game 7 before the Cards' celebrations had begun. Photo: Matt Slocum/Associated Press

In second place with the most World Series victories (11), only the N.Y. Yankees (27) have more, the Cards begin to explode in celebrations as the team that was given ‘no chance’ over the last few weeks of the regular season (they were 3 games out with 5 to play), became the ‘Cardiac’ Cardinals by taking the Texas Rangers the full seven games and winding up victorious. It was one of the most exciting Series ever played. Hats off to the team, the city of St. Louis, and the fans that were loud & supportive the entire game and series!

WEEK #8-The Furnace’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 28, 2011
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 comments

*Home team in CAPS

TEXANS over Jaguars- Quite a few people have jumped on the Jaguar’s bandwagon off of their stunning (and boring) win over the Ravens on Monday Night. But they only scored 12 points which, coincidentally enough, is their season average. The Texans have too much offense for the Jags to compete and thus the ability to light it up. If last week is any indication, just look what RB Arian Foster did to the usually strong run defense of the Titans. Foster ran for three touchdowns on 234 yards rushing. Even back-up RB Ben Tate rushed for over 100 yards although the majority came after the Texans were ahead 27-0. Throw in TE Owen Daniels who is 7th in fantasy TE rankings and you can see that they have the firepower even if Andre Johnson doesn’t play( and right now it looks like he’ll sit another week). Texans are our pick, at home, over the Jags.

RB Arian Foster hopes for a repeat of last week's performance. Photo: houstontexans.com

GIANTS over Dolphins- Those of you who read our October 27th’s post know that we questioned the G-Men’s tenacity when it comes to facing losing teams and at 0-6, the Dolphins surely are in that category. Justin Tuck’s return will be needed to stop RB Daniel Thomas from having his way. After Thomas there really isn’t another offensive threat even though Davone Bess had his best game of the season last week with 7 receptions for 52 yards. They can’t convert on third downs- succeeding only 23.7% of the time (18-76). On paper the Giants should win this game by at least two touchdowns, but the ‘Giants being the Giants’ will probably win in a much closer contest while having the proceeding five weeks against teams that are 24-9 weighing heavily on their minds.

Returning Giant Justin Tuck looks to stop Daniel Thomas on Sunday. Photo: zimbio.com

BRONCOS over Lions- The injury laden Lions, losers of their last two (both at home), travel to the mile high city of Denver this week. The home cooking is just what Tim Tebow can use after getting verbally abused by the Miami fans last week. Lions QB Matthew Stafford will be starting as his injured ankle has healed enough for him to play. If he’s on, he should have no problem throwing for 300+ yards and at least two touchdowns as only the Colts are worse on passing defense. Jahvid Best is out, still recovering from his concussion leaving ineffective Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams to establish some sort of running game. All the pundits are saying that Suh will be after Tebow like a fly on a pig but he’s not getting 15-20 sacks in this or any game. The crowd and the QB will give the edge to Denver.

QB Tim Tebow is glad to be home after hearing jeers in Miami. Photo: nytimes.com

*Redskins over Bills- (game played at Toronto)- On the positive side for the Bills, they will be playing at the Rogers Center in Toronto that has a retractable roof which will allow QB Ryan Fitzpatrick to air it out as he did last year (299 yards) vs the stout pass defense of the Bears. On the negative side, John Beck, a very mobile QB as we’ve seen, will have time to scramble and/or pass to Jabar Gaffney, filling in for injured Santana Moss, and reliable TE Fred Davis. Buffalo has an NFL low 4 sacks all season. Also the Redskins have only allowed 2 TD passes all season which won’t help Fitzpatrick’s stats. And lastly, there is one intangible; with the game being played in Toronto, Buffalo really forfeits their ‘home fied advantage’. They have played at the Rogers Center three times in the last three years…and have lost ALL three! Giving the edge to the ‘Skins.

Not really a 'Home Game' for Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Photo: gocrimson.com

49ERS over Browns- In what could be the ugliest game of the week (yes, even as bad as the Saints/Rams game), the defense minded 49ers host the limping Cleveland Browns. They will be without RB Peyton Hillis (hamstring) and WR Mohamed Massaquoi (concussion). WR Joshua Cribbs replaces Massaquoi and Montario Hardesty fills in for Hillis. The 49ers have the 2nd best scoring defense allowing an average of just 16 points a game. The Browns need to hire Batman AND Robin to help score more than the 6 measly points they had in last week’s game vs Seattle. The very quiet 49ers will improve to 6-1.

RB Frank Gore looking to 'Run Up' the score on the Browns. Photo: nflpassers.com

* Last week 3-2

** Season   19-11