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NFL Week #7-The Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 19, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 7 comments

As we surmised there were a fair amount of upsets last week and two of them helped to do us in; the Bills over the Cards and G.B over the Texans. We went 2-3 for the week but came close to going 1-4 as the Raiders made it very interesting in Atlanta. At 19-11 on the season we need a good week to return us to respectablity. Here are our five best bets for week #7:

*Home team in CAPS

GIANTS over the Redskins- It took six games for the mighty Giants defense to show up and after their brilliant performance in San Fransisco last Sunday we think it will carry over into this week’s divisional contest with the Redskins. We might not see the six sacks and three interceptions that did the 49ers in last week when Washington comes to East Rutherford because they are more of a ground & pound team with Alfred Morris & RGIII leading the way. Eli & his receivers are salavating at the ‘Skins lack of defense which yields an average of 417 yards to opposing offenses per game. They also have a bit of a ‘revenge’ factor going into this game as the Redskins did beat the Giants in both of their meetings last year. Giants are 4-2 but are 0-2 in their division and need this one.

#10 Eli Manning has winning on his mind as the G-Men want some payback from their two losses to the ‘Skins last season. Photo: zimbio.com

RAIDERS over the Jags- After nearly pulling out what would have been the biggest upset of the week, the Raiders return to the Black Hole knowing that if they almost beat the undefeated Falcons on the road they certainly should have an easier time with the anemic Jags in their building. The Raiders defense will shine this week as they will face QB Blaine Gabbert who has been sacked 15 times this season and has thrown for 200 yards only once. Outside of RB Maurice Jones-Drew, there is little to get excited about as WR Justin Blackmon, the Jags 1st round pick, has yet to live up to the hype entering this season. The Silver & Black should romp in this one.

PATRIOTS over the Jets- The Jets lost both of their games against the Pats last year; one by 11 points and the other by 21 and their team is no better now than they were in ’11. Beleagured QB Mark Sanchez has averaged 12.6 completions over his last three games while in contrast, Tom Brady’s average is 27. Sanchez has thrown six picks and been sacked 10 times as his offensive line continues to struggle. Don’t be suckered into believing that they have turned things around as they beat a Colts team last week with a rookie quarterback and without their starting RB on the field. Can’t see the Jets and their lack of offense overtake New England at home with their many weapons.

BILLS over the Titans- In what could possibly be the highest scoring game of the day, we’re leaning towards the Bills. Neither team knows the concept of the word ‘defense’ so it could come down to the last team with the ball wins.. Discounting the last two weeks when the Bills played two of the leagues better defenses Arizona & S.F., QB Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 12 touchdown passes in the first four games! They have beaten Arizona, Cleveland (the best 1-5 team in the league) and blew out Kansas City at Orchard Park. RB Chris Johnson should have a career day but the Titans defense, which is ranked 25th in the league, will probably go up after this week.

BENGALS over the Steelers-Pittsburgh is having all kinds of injury issues; the worst is that Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman both have been ruled OUT for Sunday night’s game. They have several defensive injuries as well and Maurkice Pouncey, their center remains Questionable. That would be a big loss to their offensive line if Pouncey cannot suit up. At RB, Jonathan Dwyer, who played in just three games last year and has only 24 rushing attempts so far this season, is not going to scare anyone on the Bengals this week. If you look at the Steelers losses this season, to Denver, Oakland, & Tennessee, you would have to scratch your head wondering how this team, now at 2-3, has fallen from grace so rapidly. Clearly the Bengals are a step up in class but QB Andy Dalton needs to cut down on his interceptions (he has 6 in the last three games), if they are to be successful this week.

#14 Andy Dalton seen here celebrating with WR #18 A.J. Green will need to cut down on his picks in order to assure his team a victory vs the Steelers. Photo: cbssports.com

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NFL Week #5: The Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 5, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 comments

Right off the bat, we want to offer ourselves the obligatory self-praise that we deserve, as we went 5-0 with our picks last week!! This doesn’t happen too often but when it does it helps to validate what our research team does here at the Furnace. They say that  like eating green peppers and sausage, history ‘repeats’  itself. We will try our best to prove that statement correct by offering you this weeks Five Best Bets…

*Home team in CAPS

STEELEERS over the Eagles- These two Pennsylvania teams go at it on Sunday in what should be an exciting game. The Eagles, winners of three games by a total of four points, had miraculous finishes in all of them and probably should not have won two of them save for huge mistakes by their opponents. They are either a team of fate or, well, just plain lucky. The Steelers, fresh from their week 4 bye, returns to the gridiron with key players such as James Harrison, Troy Palamalu, and Rashard Mendenhall. The 3-1 Eagles will go to 3-2 after this one as Big Ben & co. are busting to get back on the field and at 1-2 need this game much more.

#34 RB Rashard Mendenhall returns for the first time this season. Photo: steelerstoday.com

Vikings over the Titans- Tennessee has given up an average of 38 points a game so far this season. Even with last week’s 141 yard season breakout rushing performance by RB Chris Johnson, they’ll need to find another way to overcome the Vikings lean defense that only allows 2.4 YPC to opposing backs. The Titans have been blown out in 3 of their 4 games and will have a difficult time fostering any offensive threat this week. QB Christian Ponder (knee) will play and should have a decent day.

49ERS over Bills- In defense of the Bills, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the league in touchdown passes with 12. However he is prone to panic in games where he is playing from behind and against the number one defense in the league last year, it should mean more of the same. He already has 7 interceptions-a number that will probably increase on Sunday. The Bills lack of defense (they have given up 100 points in 2 games vs the Jets and Patriots), should make this a lopsided affair in the city by the bay.

#14 Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick could be in for a long day between sacks and interceptions playing against one of the league’s elite defenses. Photo: Luc Leclerc — US PRESSWIRE

BENGALS over the Dolphins- This game could be closer than expected as the Dolphins have lost some close ones late in games. The last two, vs the Cardinals and the Jets, were lost in overtime no less. Historically, the Fish play better on the road and even though QB Ryan Tannehill has been connecting with his receivers, especially WR Brian Hartline of late, he’ll be facing a very hot Andy Dalton, ranked fourth in fantasy points in Yahoo! leagues, who has 8 touchdown passes to his credit this season. So we’ll just say Cincy is a close one.

Texans over the JETS- Although there should be no way that the Texans lose this game, our initial reaction was that this could be a ‘trap’ game for Houston. Needless-to-say, that feeling was short lived. Yes, it’s a small possibility but with an Arian Foster and the 9th best rushing team going up against a Jets team that’s 31st against the run, it doesn’t look good for the 2-2 home team. With a decimated receiving corps, and a QB who has a season league low 49.2% completion rate (and that was with Santonio Holmes), one has to wonder where the Jets points will come from.

Fantasy Football: Week 2 Studs and Duds

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 18, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 6 comments

There were many outstanding performances in week #2, some were even record-breaking. Some with names that you probably don’t even have on your roster. And then there were those that disappointed the owners who drafted them so soon (and in most cases so high) on draft day. Here is a list of both studs and duds that stood out last week:

  • STUDS

Eli Manning-QB-Giants- Against a pretty good defense that had given up only 10 points to Cam Newton and the Panthers a week earlier, Eli and the Giants teed off for quadruple that amount on Sunday at Met Life Stadium. Down by as many as 14 at one point, Eli threw the rock 51 times for 520 yards eclipsing the previous record held by Phil Simms who set it in 1985 with 513 passing yards. The only other Giants QB to pass for 500 or more yards in a game was Y.A. Tittle; 505 yards in 1962.

#10 Eli Manning joined the 500 yard club in Giants Franchise history with his come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay. Photo: celebs101.com

Donte Rosario-TE-Chargers- How many of you had him on your roster? QB Philip Rivers has his number in the red zone several times on Sunday as Rosario had four receptions for 48 yards and three touchdowns. Here’s a guy that hadn’t scored a touchdown since he was with the Panthers in 2009! In fact he had never scored more than 2 TDs in one season in his five-year career! Antonio Gates (sore ribs) is expected back this week so don’t go & grab Rosario up off of waivers just yet.

Reggie Bush-RB-Dolphins- The former 1st round second overall pick of the Saints in 2006, lit it up yesterday with 26 carries for 172 yards and two touchdowns. After that performance Bush became the second leading rusher in the league behind C.J. Spiller.  Bush rushed for 71 yards with one fumble in a 24-6 loss to the N.Y. Jets in week 5 last year. He’ll face the Jets at home next week.

Hakeem Nicks/Victor Cruz-WRs-Giants- These two receivers were the recipient of the majority of Eli Manning’s passes collecting a combined 371 receiving yards between them and two touchdowns. Nicks (199 yards) was targeted a team high 15 times while Cruz (179 yards)  caught 11 passes and then acknowledged his Grandmother after scoring his lone TD as she was the one responsible for him learning his now famous Salsa endzone dance.

  • DUDS

Chris Johnson-RB-Titans- Another lackluster day for the former 1st rounder. The Titans had to play catch-up for most of the game once again but C J’s 8 rushes for 17 yards brought his two-week total to 19 carries for just 21 yards; a 1.1 YPC average. At this point most of Johnson’s owners are scratching their heads as his numbers continue to slide. In his 1st two weeks of the season last year he had 77 rushing yards, 2010 176 yards & 2 TDs, and 2009 254 yards & 2 TDs. Not a good sign.

#28 RB Chris Johnson’s numbers have been plummeting for the past 4 seasons and owners are growing impatient. Photo: sportsillustrated.com

Tim Tebow-QB-Jets- The talk around the Jets camp before the season started was that Tebow was to be in 15-20 plays per game. He came in for 9 plays in week 1 and just 3 on Sunday, all in the 3rd quarter. He has 33 rushing yards in the 2 games and has no completions. It would be hard to believe that he will be back next season if this trend continues, especially if Sanchez stays healthy.

Jamaal Charles-RB-Chiefs- Charles, who blew out his knee (torn ACL) on Sept. 18th last season re-injured his surgically repaired knee during Sunday’s game but prior to that his 6 attempts for 7 yards were nothing to write home about. For the season he has 22 carries for 90 yards and no touchdowns. Another reason why we always are a little leery of drafting players coming off major injuries.

Kevin Ogletree-WR-Cowboys- Feel bad for the over 2 million owners who ran to the waiver wire to grab this potential stud after his amazing first game vs the Giants when he caught 8 passes for 114 yards and 2 TDs. Week two was a completely different story. Tony Romo threw 40 passes but only one to Ogletree for 26 yards. We would recommend that you keep him on the bench for another week until or unless he proves his worth.