Tuesday Morning QB, Weeks 1 & 2

So when I started this whole blog thing, my intent was to rotate topics around theology, funnies and sports.  The first two I've been pretty consistent with, the latter, not so much.  I started the blog in March, while one of my biggest passions, college basketball, reached it's climax, and I had a pretty thorough review on the best post-season in sports.  After a few pithy sports posts in the spring, it was a quiet summer.  Part of it was apathy, but there also just wasn't much to talk about.  I work for a baseball team, so the last thing I want to do is come home and write about baseball.  Yeah, there was the World Cup, but I know nothing about professional soccer, and like most Americans, I only care to watch once every four years (if you disagree with that, you're either a liar or in the national minority).

But I've ingested a lot of football the last few weeks.  So much so, I'm confident I can blog on it once a week for the next 18 weeks or so.  Yes, I realize, I already missed week one, but I just got the idea two days ago, so cut me a break.  I realize the whole Tuesday Morning QB  thing might sound a little cliche, but aren't all weekly football re-caps cliche?

Every Tuesday, my plan is to post a few quick knee-jerk observations about the NFL (this week will be little verbose as I take time to explain format).  This won't focus on college football.  Don't get me wrong, I like watching college football, but I take it in as an appetizer for Sunday afternoons.

If you enjoyed any of my previous, non-sports blog posts: 1.) What's wrong with you?  2.) Thank You;  3.) Don't worry, I'll still slip in some theology & humor between Tuesday Morning QB posts.

So without any further adieu....

What's New?

Every week, I'll give a little reaction to the biggest league stories of the week.  Some will be quieter than others.  This week, however, is already making me regret starting this project now.

Ray Ray Rice.  There's not much I can add to what has already been said about this.  All I will say is that I'm honestly praying for Ray and Janay Rice.  This is a young couple that has been married for less than a year.  For all the turmoil, they still have presumably more than half their lives ahead of them.  They both need counseling - Ray for his anger issues, Janay to cope with the emotional trauma.  There's also clearly some deeper issues in their relationship, so if they truly want to preserve it, marriage counseling is needed as well.  Why do I say all this?  Because I'm a believer in hope.  Ray will have to face some severe consequences for his actions.  Janay has every right to leave him.  But what if they stopped fighting each other, stopped fighting the media, and started fighting for their marriage?  What if they started fighting for their daughter, too young to even know what's going on right now?  What if ten years from now, she could look up at her parents and see a patient, gentle father who exercises loving self-control, and a proud, confident mother who has inner peace?

Peterson Inactive, Now Active.  This situation is still developing/unfolding, but the above sentiments on Rice sum up my feelings on this issue as well.  It is clear that Peterson has admitted going too far in correcting his children.  I'm not a father, so I can't relate.  I certainly don't know what it's like to not have full custody of your kid (or be the child in that scenario), so it wouldn't be fair for me to try to act like I have all the answers in this situation.  I think it's safe to say though, that injuring a defenseless child, regardless of intent, is inexcusable.  Like Rice, there will be consequences to suffer.  At this point, I can only pray that Peterson will accept those consequences and that this situation will motivate him to run with fatherhood with the same passion he runs with the football on Sundays.

Impish or Admirable?

This is nothing new.  Some columns call this hot and cold, contenders and pretenders, etc.  We'll call this impish or admirable.  I'll basically pick a couple of teams each week who I think look good (admirable) or awful (impish).  Please keep in mind this is a snapshot of the respective weeks.  In other words, don't be surprised if a team I label impish one week is admirable 4 weeks later (or vice versa).  Teams change courses all season long.  Number of teams included will vary, depending on how I'm feeling.

Impish - Pittsburgh Steelers. This is embarrassing as a Steelers fan, but right now, it's the truth.  Although the team is only 1-1, the more alarming issue is that if we scored them by quarters played this season, they're 2-6.  For a team trying to break a 2-year streak of 8-8, that's not a good sign.  There are actually many bright spots on offense, but the unit is clearly still trying to gel.  Defensively, their young D-Line needs to grow up in a hurry.  Justin Forsett ran for 56 yards against them on Thursday.  Justin Forsett shouldn't be able to gain 56 yards walking around the Baltimore mall let alone against an NFL defense.

Impish - Kansas City Chiefs. After roaring to a 9-0 start last season, this team has won 2 out of it's last 10 including playoffs.  Pundits will argue that they "hung in there" against Denver, how they "controlled the clock" in the 2nd half, and had a "chance to tie" at the goal line in the closing seconds.  Last time I checked, wins aren't awarded for time of possession.  They lost their first two games, and stunk in the process.  I also couldn't get over Jim Nance and Phil Sims drooling over Alex Smith for his "running around the field to keep the play alive" and "great decision-making in the second half."  Again, these are not the statistics Kansas City signed him to an extension for in the offseason.  If this team continues to pick up more injuries than 1st downs, they'll be lucky to crack 8-8. 

Admirable - Cincinnati Bengals.  I say this with a seat belt, because this seems like deja vu.  Cincy seems to have the same narrative the last few years - great start, hangs on to win the division, lose in first round of playoffs.  But so far, they've done everything asked of them - Andy Dalton has been spreading the ball around effectively (even with an injured AJ Green), Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard have figured out how to each each put up big numbers while sharing carries, and the defense is lights out.  I know I'm not supposed to trust them because they're the Bengals, but until they mess up, I have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Admirable - Carolina Panthers.  It doesn't matter if it's Derek Anderson or Cam Newton under center, this team is moving the ball well on offense.  No Steve Smith? No problem.  Let me introduce you to a rejuvenated Greg Olsen, Jericho Cotchery, Jason Avant, and early offensive rookie of the year candidate, Kelvin Benjamin.  And we don't hear much about their defense outside Luke Kuechly - but this unit currently ranks in the top 5 in yards/game and points/game.  That's a recipe for playoff success!

Fantasy Watch

I have a problem - I'm addicted to fantasy football.  I'm currently in 3 leagues.  To be fair, I don't seek them out, I just can't say no when invited to a league.  Sometimes I only have one league if I only get one invite, but I guess I was popular this year.  

I don't have clever names for this, and this is already a cookie-cutter piece, so we'll just do like and dislike to keep it simple.  These are players you either want to look into acquiring via the waiver wire or trade, or players you should avoid or drop if they're on your roster.  I'll also do pyrite, more commonly known as fool's gold.  These are players who may not necessarily be good or bad, just use caution with them on your roster.  Like impish or admirable, number of players may vary, and since this post is already waaaayyy longer than I'd like, we'll keep this week's list short:

Like - Terrance West, Cleveland Browns RB.  I promise I'm not on a band wagon - this guy was on my very late round radar in each draft I was in, and now I'm kicking myself that he's unavailable.  While everyone was focused on Johnny Football this preseason, West was putting up solid running numbers.  And anyone who was delusional enough to think that Ben Tate was the next great running back just waiting in the shadow of Arian Foster, well, they deserve what they got if they drafted him.  With Tate hurt, West has shined in the last two weeks, and while it's still a committee backfield in Cleveland, he should eventually merit the bulk of the carries each game.  The only thing that can really stop him is if the coaching staff does something Cleveland-ish.

Dislike - Ryan Matthews, San Diego Chargers RB.  There are probably more significant fantasy disappointments to discuss, such as RG3's ankle, but since it's the beginning of the year, I need to say what nobody has seemed willing to say for the last 5 years: Ryan Matthews is not a great running back.  I'd hesitate to even call him good.  The year after LaDainian Tomlinson left the Chargers, Matthews was hailed a top-10 overall pick, despite not having much of a resume to back it up.  He was awful that season, and yet somehow, the geniuses in the fantasy football world ranked him in the top-10 again the next year! And guess what?  He was still pathetic!  While his projections seemed to have come back down to Earth the last few years, I was still surprised to see him listed as a top-15 running back in some player rankings this season.  Really?  You can't find 15 running backs that are better than Matthews?  If you're a Matthews fantasy owner, don't freak out too much over his knee injury - you weren't going to get much out of him anyways.  If you're lucky, maybe one of your fantasy colleagues will trade you a Jack-in-the-Box Midnight Munchie Meal for him. 

Pyrite - Percy Harvin, Seattle Seahawks WR.  At first, this may seem like a head-scratcher. I mean, he's averaging 9.5 fantasy points through the first two weeks - that's not bad, is it?  No, but remember, pyrite looks pretty, but it's not worth as much as the real thing.  My problem with Harvin is that he doesn't have a defined role, thus I doubt his ability to maintain big numbers week after week.  As a receiver, he's not the best route-runner or the surest of hands - he's just fast.  As a runner, he can't get large volumes of runs inside the tackles - he's used on sweeps and read options in hopes of finding open space to utilize his speed.  Last week's 9 point effort came on 50+ receiving yards and 40+ rushing.  By themselves, those would be terrible numbers for a wide receiver or running back respectively.  I don't think he'll get the number of touches every week to replicate that as well, as evidenced by his 3 touches on Sunday.  Had the referees correctly called him out of bounds on his 51-yard touchdown run, he probably would have had 3 points instead of 10.  Also this might be a little unfair, but he hasn't proven in recent years that his body can hold up through a 16-game schedule.
Is he a great weapon for the Seahawks?  Of course.  Worth having on a fantasy roster?  Absolutely.  But is he a WR2 (as currently ranked by Yahoo! Sports)?  If he's your second-best wide receiver in a draft that was supposed to be rich in wide receiver talent this year, you did something terribly wrong.