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NFL 2014: WEEK #1-The Furnace’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on September 5, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 21 Comments

Its been a long time coming but finally the new NFL season is underway with Seattle’s Legion of Doom overpowering the Pack by 20 points, 36-16 on Thursday night. Here now are our Top Five Best Bets for the first full week of games. Good luck!

*Home teams in CAPS

JETS -5 1/2 over Raiders- New offensive weapons in Chris Johnson, Eric Decker and Jace Amaro, home field, plus going up against rookie QB Derek Carr in his first game as a pro will be all too much for the travelling Raiders to handle. If you are waivering between these two teams, here is an interesting stat that might alter your thinking: Oakland has failed to win a game in the Eastern Time Zone since 2005, a span of 13 games.

Vikings +3 1/2 over RAMS- St. Louis has a fairly good defensive team but they lack a potent offense. Their quarterback, Shaun Hill, hasn’t started a game since 2010 and the rust could show. Adrian Peterson who rushed for over 200 yards the last time these two clubs met in 2012, along with veteran Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Kyle Rudolph, should make the visiting Vikes 1-0 entering Week 2.

BUCCANEERS -2 over Panthers-  It is not beyond the realm of possibilities for the Bucs to end the season as a top five most improved team. New headcoach Lovie Smith will help achieve that goal as will RB Doug Martin, if he can stay healthy. Cam Newton, who has been dealing with a rib injury, will have a target on his back all afternoon.

LIONS -5 1/2 over Giants- Eli Manning has looked like a deer in headlights throughout the pre-season and even if and when he masters the new West Coast offense, we’re not convinced that the G-Men’s offensive line will cooperate. The Lions’s, with Matt Stafford at the helm, have the talent and the chemistry to thwart any threat the Giants might impose. Big Blue will opt to keep their attack on the ground but when they fall behind they will have to abandon their game and that’s when the trouble will start.

Chargers +3 over CARDINALS- Arizona has some injuries on their defensive line and lost Linebackers Daryl Washington to suspension and Karlos Dansby to free agency. The addition of Antonio Cromartie will not be enough to stop Philip Rivers, Vincent Jackson and company from having a big day in Phoenix.

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Fantasy Football 2013: Waiver Wire Pickups for Week #8

Posted by fantasyfurnace on October 22, 2013
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Can you recall a season when there were so many injuries? And those of the season-ending variety no less! The only good news that comes out of these players going down are the opportunities that are available to fantasy owners on the waiver wire. Here are some of those players, none of which is owned in more than 23% of leagues as of Tuesday, Octobber 22, 2013.

1. Mike James-RB-Buccaneers- 11% Owned- Doug Martin, Tampa Bay’s prolific running back, has been sidelined indefinitely with a torn labrum and thus has opened the door for the Buccaneer’s 6th round rookie out of Miami, Mike James. He is also a serviceable receiver  which bodes well for current quarterback Mike Glenn. Although the 3rd down carries will continue to belong to Brian Leonard another sneaky pickup in deeper leagues, James will be the featured back for the foreseeable future.  A must add in most leagues and formats.

#25 RB Mike James will take over the featured back duties in Tampa Bay with Doug Martin out indefinitely. Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

#25 RB Mike James will take over the featured back duties for Tampa Bay with Doug Martin out indefinitely. Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

2. Darrius Heyward-Bey-WR-Colts- 22% Owned- Another major injury this past week was to standout wide receiver Reggie Wayne (knee). Reports say that not only is this season ending, but it could possibly be career ending as well. Heyward-Bey will make for an excellent WR2 in his place. In the Colts’ stunning win over the Broncos on Sunday night, DHB had 4 catches for 44 yards and one touchdown. He also added one carry good for 30 more yards. DHB’s seven targets just emphasizes that he is in line for a much larger role going forward.

3. Jeremy Kerley-WR-Jets- 9% Owned- Kerley is forming a close bond with rookie quarterback Geno Smith as Sunday’s game against the Patriots bears out. He led the team with 10 targets and posted 97 receiving yards and a touchdown. Only one of his receptions didn’t go for a first down! Kerley, with more faith and confidence from Geno Smith, will see more opportunities and hopefully be less inconsistent going forward. He will make a serviceable WR3 this week.

#11 WR Jeremy Kerley almost hit the century mark in receiving yards vs the Patriots last Sunday & is a capable WR3. Photo: USA Today Sports

#11 WR Jeremy Kerley almost hit the century mark in receiving yards vs the Patriots last Sunday & is a capable WR3. Photo: USA Today Sports

4. Saints-DST-23% Owned- The ninth ranked defense in the league goes up against a rookie quarterback, Thaddeus Lewis, and the Buffalo Bills this week. The Saints are a team that’s angry and hungry for a win in the hopes of erasing the memories of the debacle against the Patriots last Sunday night in that ugly 30-27 loss in the waning moments of that game. The Saints will be at home at the noisy confines of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In leagues of 12 or more, there probably isn’t a better team on the wire to select for Week 8.

5. Joseph Fauria-TE-Lions- 18% Owned- We have touted Fauria before, but not many took advantage of his availability last week and so we think another shout-out for Fauria is in order. Oddly enough, he was targeted more times in last week’s game than he has been all season but he did not see the endzone. This week the Lions take on a Cowboy team that has given up the 3rd most fantasy points to Tight Ends this season. With Tony Scheffler remaining out (concussion), the undrafted rookie should  have a 1-2 touchdown day. ForMartellus Bennett owners and those leary about whether or not Jimmy Graham will be on the field this week, Fauria makes an adequate pickup.

NFL Week #14: The Week’s Five Best Bets

Posted by fantasyfurnace on December 8, 2012
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 8 Comments

Close losses last week of the field goal variety, did us in in two of our three losses bringing the season total to 42-23. We did manage to pick our upset of the week correctly, a stunning victory by the Seahawks over Da Bears and the hapless Jets one point win over the pedestrian Cardinals in 1 7-6 snorer… We’re hoping that we get to finish the season out strong as we did last year so here’s our Five Best Bets for week #14…

*Home team in CAPS

Jets over the JAGUARS- Who would have thought we’d go back to the well and pick the anemic Jets twice in two weeks? Well this matchup was just too tempting to pass up. The Jets need to leave the hostile & depressing confines of Met Life Stadium and this this Floriday trip gives them that opportunity. The Jags are a team even worse off than the Gang Green having lost five out of six home games this season. They will be without their best offensive weapon of late in WR Cecil Shorts leaving them with WR Justin Blackman, TE Marcedes Lewis, and fourth RB back up Montel Owens (no relation to Terrell). If they can tighten up their defense again which surrended just 6 points to the lowly Cardinals last week, they should win this one handily.

#89 Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis along with EWR Justin Blackmon should be the main offensive threats for the lifeless Jaguars this week vs the Jets. Photo: jaguarsgab.com

#89 Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis along with WR Justin Blackmon should be the main offensive threats for the lifeless Jaguars this week vs the Jets. Photo: jaguarsgab.com

BROWNS over the Chiefs– This won’t be the same game emotionally driven game the Chiefs played last week immediately following the tragic loss and double murders of Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend. They travel to Cleveland this week to face a much improved Browns team that should easily handle a Chiefs group who basically are playing out the rest of the season and awaiting a top pick in the 2013 NFL draft. We like how QB Brandon Weeden has progressed and were impressed with WR Josh Gordon’s breakout game last week. Not many more accolades we could come up with for RB Trent Richardson who should have a monstrous game this week.

WR Josh Gordon, the youngest player on the Browns (turned 21 last April), leads the team with 646 receiving yards and 5 TDs. Photo:John Kuntz, The Plain Deale

WR Josh Gordon, the youngest player on the Browns (turned 21 last April), leads the team with 646 receiving yards and 5 TDs. Photo:John Kuntz, The Plain Dealer

STEELERS over the Chargers- Big Ben is expected to start in this one and that boost alone make the Steelers  more of a 6 point favorite to us. The Black & Gold have won 5 of their last seven, (two losses coming with replacements Leftwich and Batch in at QB for the injured Roethlisberger. They are currently sitting in 2nd in the AFC North at 7-5. The Chargers, on the other hand are going in an opposite direction as they are losers of their last four in a row and seven out of eight. Philip Rivers has passed for 300 or more yards just twice all season while RB Ryan Matthews has yet to eclipse 100 rushing yards in an one game. The Steelers would like a win here too because they’ll face the Bengals and the BRowns in their final two.

BUCCANEERS over the Eagles-  The Eagles put up a fight last week in Dallas losing 38-33 with Bryce Brown rushing for another big game with 169 yards which follows his 178 rushing game vs the Panthers the week prior. The Sunday night game in Dallas which now is followed by this week’s game in Tampa Bay make the Eagles, losers of their last eight straight games, another team just playing out the string. The 6-6 Buccaneers, currently second in the NFC South, have something to play for at least.Although losers of their last two to Atlanta & Denver by a combined total of 9 points, Josh Freeman should have an easy time in the pocket without any semblance of a pass rush from the Eagles defensive line. RB Doug Martin should also be in beast mode for this one.

#22 RB Doug Martin is well on his way to 300 carries this season. Photo: zimbio.com

#22 RB Doug Martin is well on his way to 300 carries this season. Photo: zimbio.com

BENGALS over the Cowboys- This is the time of year that the Cowboys begin their annual descent from the standings. They stand at 6-6 in second place in the highly contested NFC East but have forgotten how to play defense over the last two games yielding 64 points to the Redskins and Eagles. They will play their final three games against the Steelers, Saints  and Redskins; no easy task to be sure. Meantime the high potent offense of Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, BJGE, etc. have won their last four and are 7-5; second in the NFC North. This should be a high scoring affair for a Bengals team already on a roll.