NFL Fantasy Football - GAABoard Superbowl 2023

[dec]

I scored the second highest amount of points in the Payton Division this week.

My opponent scored the most.

[AZOffaly]

I thought I'd do the reports from a real life matchup perspective this week, as I tend to repeat myself over and over as the same players feature in each league we have. Yahoo does a recap of the fantasy games anyway, so I'll just post our results, and try and do a bit of a commentary on the real games from a fantasy perspective.


Part 1 -

First up we have Thursday night's game, Pittsburgh Steelers 6 @ 26 Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens showed impressive intestinal fortitude to put the Ray Rice fiasco behind them and take care, fairly comfortably in truth, of the Steelers in a big early season AFC North matchup. Rice's workload was primarily carried by Bernard Pierce on the running side, as the Temple Owl had 96 yards rushing on 22 carries. Justin Forsett had 56 yards on only 8 carries, but was marginally the favoured back on passing situations, targeted 4 times (all of which he caught) versus 2 targets for Pierce. Flacco at Quarterback was steady if unspectacular, with 21/29 passing for 166 yards and 2 TDs. Just as important, he had no INTs, and protected the ball. He spread the ball out fairly between his receivers, with 7 different Ravens catching passes. Most notable in terms of scoring was backup TE Owen Daniels, who had Denis Pitta owners gnashing their teeth, as he hauled in 2 TD catches from 5 catches. Pitta had only 3 catches, but he actually had 2 yards more than Daniels (30 vs 28), but if Daniels is going to hoover up Red Zone targets, it's going to be an issue. From a wideouts perspective, Steve Smith Sr (Now called Sr as he had a  child in the off season and called him Steve) continues to be a viable option for the ravens in the Anquin Boldin role. Targeted 10 times, the ex-Panther had 6 catches for 71 yards and was the most productive Raven in terms of catches and yardage. Torrey Smith continues to worry his owners with just 1 catch for 10 yards from 3 targets. Keep an eye on that situation, but Smith the elder may just have passed out Torrey as the go-to Ravens receiver. For the Steelers it was a decidedly average night, with just 2 field goals from Suisham to show for their efforts. Big Ben Roethlisberger was 22/37 for 217 yards, but he had zero TD passes and had an interception to boot. LeVeon Bell continues to impress from the running back position, especially in our PPR league. The former Michigan State Spartan had 59 yards rushing on 11 attempts, for an average of over 5 per carry. He also featured in the passing game with 5 catches from 5 targets and 48 yards. Antonio Brown was the only Steeler wideout to really feature with 90 yards on 7 receptions from 12 targets and a nice game. He seems to be by far the Steelers main man, although Markus Wheaton may be worth a look as he had 5 receptions on 8 targets a week after 97 yards receiving on 6 receptions against Cleveland.

Onto the early Sunday games, and first up we have the Buffalo Bills going to 2-0 with a 29-10 win over the Miami Dolphins in upstate New York. The big news for fantasy owners from this game may well be the injury to Knowshon Moreno. The Dolphins' feature back dislocated his elbow in the game, and looks set to miss 4-8 weeks according to initial reports. Moreno was going in the top 10-12 running backs in our drafts, so this is a big blow to a few teams. In his absence the load seems to be going to be Lamar Miller's.  Miller had 11 carries for 46 yards in a game where Miami passed a lot (49 passing attempts!), so it may be that Miller will be a good option going into the next several weeks if you need a Miami running back. He was also targeted 5 times and had 2 catches. Having said all that, Miller himself hurt his ankle and is currently 'Questionable' for Sunday but keep an eye on him.  In a game where Ryan Tannehill threw the ball 49 times for 241 yards and a score, plus an interception, you'd expect there to be a lot of targets to go around, and indeed 8 different Dolphins caught a pass, with Mike Wallace the leader of the pack with 5 catches for 56 yards and a score. Jarvis Landry had 5 catches for 49 yards and Brian Hartline was another with 5 catches for 36 yards. Leading man in terms of catches was Tight End Charles Clay with 7 catches for 31 yards.  For Buffalo, the surprise start keeps up its momentum, and they have a nice balance behind beleaguered QB EJ Manuel. Manuel threw for 202 yards, with no interceptions and 1 score, but in a game the Bills controlled, he only had to throw it 26 times. When he did throw it, he threw it to rookie wideout Sammy Watkins. Watkins, from Clemson, had a big day with 8 receptions for 117 yards and a TD. It remains to be seen if he can keep that sort of production up, but he's certainly made a good start in the 'Rookies to watch out for' category. No other Bills receiver had anything like that sort of production, which leads us nicely to the balance referred to earlier. CJ Spiller and Fred Jackson have been a 1-2 punch in the league since Spiller was drafted, and Sunday was a case of more of the same. 12 carries each, but Spiller significantly outperforming the older man to the tune of 69 yards to 24. Add in the fact that Spiller brought a kickoff return to the house and it turned out to be a nice fantasy day for his owners. That balance of workload though, is a concern, and it may hold Spiller back from being an elite fantasy producer.

Up next, the Cincinnati Bengals proved they are a team to be taken seriously with a pretty routine win over a highly rated Atlanta Falcons unit, 24-10, in Ohio. This was another game which featured an injury with potentially serious fantasy implications, as star Bengals wideout, AJ Green, left the field with what was initially called 'Turf Toe'. If it is that, he may miss anything from 2-6 weeks, but initial indications are on the lower side of that estimate. Given the Bengals are on a bye in Week 4, he may only miss 1 or 2 games, which would be a relief to his NFL team, and our Fantasy owners. In the game itself, the star men were the Bengals Running Backs. Giovanni Bernard is proving that the promise he showed last year was no flash in the pan, and he ended up with 27 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 5 passes for another 79 yards. Sharing the workload at running back in a run heavy offense, Jeremy Hill had 15 carries for 74 yards. Normally when the backup has 15 carries, you're worried about the main guy's productivity, but there seems to be loads of rushing attempts to go around in Cincy. In the passing game, Andy Dalton had a very solid, nice day with 252 yards and 1 TD from only 23 passing attempts. Obviously the fact that the game was in hand limited his need to throw the ball, but it's likely that Cincinnati will try to replicate this approach as the season goes on., despite 38 passing attempts in week 1. When Dalton did go to the air, a lot of it was little passes to running backs given Green's injury. Mohamed Sanu did impress at pure Wideout with 84 yards for a TD, but off only 4 targets, so I'm not sure if that's going to be a pattern in future. With Green's injury Sanu might be the main receiver in Week 3, but don't be surprised if it's more run, run, run.

Not far away in Ohio, a great win for the Cleveland Browns, 26-24 over the slow starting New Orleans Saints. Experienced former Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff held his nerve to boot the 29 yard game winner, but this was a game that went back and forth until the dying moments. Johnny Manziel featured in 3 plays, but did the square root of feck all in any of them. This is still Brian Hoyer's team. Hoyer threw 40 times, completing 24 passes for 204 yards and 1 TD. Not huge numbers, but enough to keep the Browns in the game, and give them a chance to win it. He made a few big completions as well, including the throw which set up the game winner, albeit after a complete brain fart by the New Orlean's secondary. He spread the ball out nicely with 8 different receivers, Andrew Hawkins getting the most yardage with 70 from 6 catches, but ex Cowboy Miles Austin hauled in the TD and had 6 catches himself. Many people wondered about Cleveland when they traded away Trent Richardson mid season last year, but they seem to have found a promising replacement in Terence West, the rookie from Towson. West had 100 yards last week against Pittsburgh, and followed up with 68 yards and a score on 19 carries. He caught 2 passes for 22 yards as well, and seems to be the bell cow in Cleveland.  For the Saints, Drew Brees had another so-so outing, and this will start causing a bit of concern with his owners. He's been far from terrible, with 237 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in this game, but it's just not the sort of dominating QB numbers that someone drafting him in the top 10 would have expected. Jimmy Graham at TE remains an absolute animal, catching both TDs for 118 yards off 10 catches, but he was by far and away the best receiver Brees had. Marques Colston was a very disappointing complete no-show, breaking a streak of at least 1 reception in something like 86 games. In the running game Mark Ingram led the way with 11 carries for 83 yards and a TD, but the rest were a bit Ho-Hum. Pierre Thomas has been a disappointment so far, with just 3 carries for 16 yards and 3 catches for another 16 yards to go with it.

Down in Nashville, the Dallas Cowboys upset the pre-match predictions with a solid 26-10 win over the Tennessee Titans. Usually when Dallas wins, you find Tony Romo has had a big day, and while Romo was fine (176 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTS) he was not the major factor at all in this win. The big performance for the Cowboys was their much questioned running game, and more precisely, DeMarco Murray. Murray went off to the tune of 167 yards on the ground, with 1 TD, and basically controlled this game for the Cowboys. He did fumble, but I think he can be forgiven that given the production he managed. As mentioned Romo threw for 176 yards, and mercurial star Wideout Dez Bryant accounted for 103 of them on 10 catches and a score. Jason Witten owners will be getting a bit antsy, as the star Tight End seems to be on a bit of a go slow in the early weeks. He has a total of 6 receptions for 46 yards in 2 weeks so far. On the Titans side of the ball, it was a bit of a curates egg for Jake Locker. He did have 234 yards passing, and a score, but mixed in 2 INTs as well. The running game was shut down really, as Shonn Green and Dexter McCluster were held to 70 yards combined. Tight End Delanie Walker was the big scorer for the Titans, with 10 receptions for 142 yards and a TD in a show of defiance as the Cowboys ran all over his Titans.

[RealSpiritof98]

I was very lucky to get the win this week as Geezer left the Baltimore defence on the bench and scored zero points for Team Defence. Was pretty high scoring overall at 137.94 to 128.06, Baltimore's D scored 20 points so this would have swung the matchup in Geezers favor. Anyway 2-0 and on to next week! This makes watching the games much more interesting.

Pretty sick, pretty sure i made the change but if you make school boy error you get the cane. Crabtree was another i mulled over and went with Hicks and he was non-existent last night, although Nelson was a bomb of a score. 0-2 but enjoying the experience, theres always next week.

[AZOffaly]

Part 2 -


Up in the twin cities, the New England Patriots stomped all over the hapless Minnesota Vikings, 30-7. The Vikings were rocked as Adrian Petersen was deactivated just before the game, as a result of an investigation into potential abuse of his 4 year old son. Petersen is accused of going beyond the bounds of reasonable discipline as he hit his son with a 'switch'. Petersen is back with the team this week, and is projected to start in Week 3, barring further evidence coming out. In his absence, Matt Asiata was promoted to starting running back, and had a reasonable outing in fantasy terms, with 13 rushes for 36 yards and 5 catches for 48 yards and a TD. However, Adrian Petersen he ain't, and even though Petersen had a poor week one, from a purely Fantasy perspective, his owners will want him back on the field ASAP. This game was billed as revenge for Matt Cassell against the Pats, but the ex backup to Tom Brady had a 'mare. He threw for 202 yards, and a score, but had 4 killer INTs as well. He did spread the ball around when he passed it, but given that the Patriots caught almost as many passes from him as his top receiver, it wasn't necessarily a good thing. Cordarelle Patterson will have better games, but still managed 56 yards on 4 catches. in addition to the aforementioned Asiata, Kyle Rudoph had 5 for 53 from the Tight End position. Tom Brady continues to be a worry for his fantasy owners. This game may have been a laugher and didn't need him to throw passes, but still the Michigan star only had 149 yards and 1 TD from 22 passing attempts. That might be a good line for a dominating Patriot performance, but it doesn't do you much good in Fantasy. Julian Edelman was very impressive given those stats, as he had 6 catches for 81 yards and the score, but star man was Steven Ridley, as the running back ran for 101 yards and a score. It's hard to have too much faith in Ridley though, as Bellichik is notoriously unpredictable when it comes to his backs, and Shane Vereen may well take over the load again next week. From an IDP perspective, Chandler Jones, the DE for the Patriots, had a stellar week with 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and a blocked kick returned for a TD.

Down in Jersey, the Arizona Cardinals overcame a short week, cross country travel, and a QB crying off on the morning of the game, to overcome the New York Giants 25-14 in a mad game. So many poor calls, bad mistakes and great plays made this a very interesting game, but the Cardinals will be delighted to start 2-0. Strangely, despite scoring just twice, this was a game where the Giants, and Eli Manning in particular, looked quite decent. Manning had 277 yards passing, with 2 scores. He also added 2 interceptions, but 1 of them was in garbage time. The other, unfortunately, was a typical Manning interception at a bad time. Rashad Jennings looked good at running back, with 18 carries for 64 yards, but he made the games biggest mistake with an unforced fumble when the Giants were trying to go in and equalise the game in the fourth quarter. Jennings certainly seems to be the favourite back though, getting 10 more carries than Andre Williams, who only got 12 yards on his 8 carries. Jennings also caught 4 passes for 45 yards in the game, but Manning's favourite target was TE Larry Donnell with 7 catches for 81 yards. Victor Cruz had 5 receptions for 60 yards, and gave Patrick Peterson fits at times, but Peterson stuck at it and broke up several other passes to Cruz. Rueben Randle was another receiver who produced, with 4 receptions for 45 yards and a TD. For the Cardinals, backup Drew Stanton started in place of Carson Palmer, and he was hardly prolific. He was safe however, which allowed the Cardinals win the game, but Stanton's line of 14/29, 167 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTS won't exactly get Fantasy Owners all excited. Larry Fitzgerald showed some signs of life with 6 catches for 51 yards, but the rest of the receiving corps was quiet, and will be hoping for the return of Palmer to be imminent. Michael Floyd had 1 for 19 yards, and John Brown had 3 for 28. Andre Ellington had a very solid game on the ground, as he rushed for 91 yards on 15 carries, a clip of over 6 yards per carry.  Jonathan Dwyer vultured the short yardage TD, and ended up with 31 yards on 9 carries. A note on special teams here sees Ted Ginn Jr answering the doubters with a 71 yard punt return for a TD, which basically won the game.

Yet another couple of notable injuries in Washington, as the Jacksonville Jaguars were stomped on by the Washington Redskins, 41-10. All the more impressive as the Redskins lost their starting QB, Robert Griffin III in the first quarter. The unfortunate former Baylor man had a bad ACL injury a couple of years ago, and was absolutely hampered by it last year, but this time he has dislocated his ankle, and potentially broken a bone in his tibia. Potentially a season ending injury, which is bad news for him, his team, and his fantasy owners. Luckily for the Redskins, they have one of the better backups in Kirk Cousins, and he took to this game like a duck to water, ending with 22/33 for 250 yards and a pair of TDs. Niles Paul, the backup TE, was the main target for Cousins with 8 receptions for 99 yards and a TD. Also getting their slice of the pie were Andre Roberts (4 for 57) and Ryan Grant (5/57). The second significant injury in this game was the shoulder of DeSean Jackson, which saw him leave the game, however his status is more hopeful and he may even play in week 3. Not injured, but very much ignored by Kirk Cousins was Pierre Garcon, who only ended up with 1 catch for 12 yards, out of only 4 targets. On the ground, Albert Morris had a good day with 85 yards on 22 attempts, and sniffing out the endzone twice. Silas Redd had the more impressive backup numbers, rather than Roy Helu, with 8 for 41 and a TD. Jacksonville will want to wipe this one from the memory banks, as it was a write off for nearly all their players, and not much better from a fantasy perspective. Chad Henne had a mediocre day with 14 completions from 28 attempts for 193 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Marcedes Lewis, the Tight End, was the exception to the rule as he had 71 yards and a TD, but given he only had 2 receptions, 1 of them being a 63 yard score on a busted coverage, I'm not sure how repeatable that is. News breaking on Monday was that Lewis had picked up a sprained ankle as well, so probably best to stay away from him for the time being. Allen Robinson was promising with 4 for 75 in the absence of Cecil Shorts, but as Shorts is probably going to be back quickly, maybe for this weekend, that may not be a pattern either. The less said about the Jags ground game the better, with only one running back carrying the ball, Toby Gerhart 7 times for 8 yards. Given that Henne outrushed him by 9 yards it shows the paucity of the Jaguars ground attack.

[AZOffaly]

Part 3 -

Detroit Lions went to Carolina full of confidence after handling the Giants in Week 1, but the Panthers put a stop to their gallop fairly emphatically on a score of 24-7. Cam Newton made his season debut for the PAnthers, after missing week 1 through a rib injury, but he didn't look affected at all as he led his team to the win with a strong showing of 22/34 for 281 yards and a TD, as well as 4 rushes for 19 yards. Greg Olsen, the former Bears TE, did most of the catching for him, with 6 for 72, but ex Eagle Jason Avant caught the TD pass, as he finished with 5 catches for 54 yards. In DeAngelo Williams' injury absence, Jonathan Stewart rushed 15 times and a touchdown, but only had 37 yards in total, which wouldn't inspire confidence going into future games if Williams is out of business. If the Panthers' rushing game was poor, the Lions' backs weren't much better. Joique Bell made the most yardage, 36, but had a fumble while Reggie Bush had only 26 yards, but only had 6 carries and wasn't a factor in the passing game either. Calvin Johnson had an unbelievable week 1, but wasn't able to back that up as he had 6 catches for 83 yards. Golden Tate had a decent 5 for 57, while Bell had another 61 yards from 6 catches.

A contender for game of the week took place in SoCal as the San Diego Chargers played almost a perfect game to shoot down the high flying Seattle Seahawks 30-21. Despite losing Ryan Matthews (another major injury, an MCL with an undefined return), they found a way to take the vaunted Seattle D apart. That way was the old Philip Rivers-Antonio Gates combination, as they made it like 2009 all over again. Rivers ended up with 28/37 for 284 yards and 3 TDs, while Tight End Gates caught all 3 TDs, as part of his 7 catches for 96 yards. Eddie Royal had an Eddie Royal day, which usually happens about twice a year, with 7 for 69. Keenan Allen had 5 for 55, which isn't that impressive on the face of it, but a fair few of those were in the face of Richard Sherman, who is one of the most intimidating corners in the league. Danny Woodhead had 4 catches for 28 yards, as well as 8 carries for another 32. Mathews had 31 yards on 11 carries before the injury, and Donald Brown took over the workload with 7 carries for 21 yards. Brown may be the feature back going forward, with Woodhead the passing back.  For the Seahawks, it was one of those days. Russell Wilson was fine, with 202 yards and 2 TDs, while Jermaine Kearse had 4 catches for 61. There were a couple of surprising performances and juxtaposed scoring situations as well. Percy Harvin was irrelevant in the passing game (1 for 5 yards) but had a (dodgy) 51 yard TD run, while Marshawn Lynch was criminally, and unbelievably, underused in the running game (6 carries for 36 yards). Lynch, however, had 4 receptions for 27 yards and a TD. A strange day.

One of the low key games of the week took place in Tampa Bay as the Buccanneers fell 19-17 to the Saint Louis Rams, and there wasn't much Fantasy impact to talk about really. A notable feature, however, might be the return to relevance of Zac Stacey, as the young Rams back carried the ball 19 times for 71 yards and a TD. Austin Davis started as QB for the Rams, and had a nothing day, with 235 yards passing, no scores, no interceptions. Brian Quick was the main receiver with 7 for 74, and everyone else was minimal. For the Buccs, feature back Doug Martin was yet another injury victim, inactive before the game with a knee injury which is not supposed to be serious, but he is still questionable for a Thursday game this week. In his absence, Bobby Rainey had a very good day, and might be worth a pickup if Martin is doubtful going forward. Rainey carried the ball for 144 yards on 22 carries, and also caught 3 passes for 30 yards. Josh McCown had a very underwhelming day with 179 yards and 1 Interception, and his targets were spread out so no one had a big day, with Vincent Jackson's 4 for 51 the best of a mediocre bunch. McCown did have 2 rushing touchdowns himself, from short yardage.

A big AFC West clash in the Mile High City saw the Denver Broncos topple the Kansas City Chiefs 24-17. Peyton Manning was his usual efficient and productive self with 21/26 for 242 Yards and 3 Touchdowns. Emmanuel Sanders was the primary target with 8 receptions for 108 yards, but the big names still did the business as Denarius Thomas had 5 for 62 and a touchdown, while Tight End Julius Thomas had 4 for 39 and a TD himself. On the ground, Montee Ball had 12 carries for 60 yards, and appears to be safe as the workhorse back. Given Manning's proficiency though, 12-15 carries may be his pattern for this year. Ball did also catch 3 passes for 29 yards. For the Chiefs, Alex Smith was solid, but couldn't find the endzone on 26/42 for 255 yards. Travis Kelce was his best receiver with 4 catches for 81 yards, although Kniles Davis had a strong game as he caught 6 balls for 26 yards, and also had 79 yards and 2 scores on the ground. He caught fumblitis though, and put 2 balls on the ground, which is not a good recipe for continued workload in this league. Dwayne Bowe continues to underwhelm with 3 catches for 40 yards.

[AZOffaly]

Final Part, Part 4 - Sheesh this was harder than I thought!

In Green Bay, the New York Jets coughed up a winning 21-3 lead to the Green Bay Packers and ended up going down 31-24. Aaron Rodgers kick started his season for the Pack with 346 yards passing on 42 passing attempts, with 3 TDs. The old reliables at WR were at it again for the Packers as Jordy Nelson ended up with a monster 209 yards on 9 catches, with a score, while Randall Cobb had 2 scores on 5 receptions and 39 yards. Eddie Lacy was subdued on the ground with only 13 carries for 43 yards, but maybe his concussion meant they were taking it a bit easier with him. He also caught 2 balls for 18 yards. For the Jets, Geno Smith looked great, and then pathetic, and then average again, as he ended with 16/32 for 176 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. His TD was caught by Eric Decker, as the former Bronco had 4 catches for 63 yards and the score. On the ground, Geno had a touchdown himself, on 7 carries for 26 yards, but the nominal running backs split time. Chris Johnson was disappointing with 21 yards on 12 carries, while Chris Ivory didn't set the world alight with 43 yards on 13 carries. Ivory did, however, add a TD and it's a bit worrying for Johnson owners, after a good week 1, that the carries were so evenly split, and that Ivory did better with his.

Houston Texans are looking good in the early going, and they had no trouble with the turnover happy Oakland Raiders as they cruised to a 30-14 win in the Bay Area. Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to keep the offense ticking along in limited passing, as he had 2 TDs on 139 yards passing, 14 of 19 attempts. He is prone to the odd mad pass which could have easily been intercepted but he's avoiding them thus far. Andre Johnson found himself on the receiving end of 6 of those 14 successful passes, to the tune of 74 yards, but DeAndre Hopkins and JJ Watt, yes, that's right, utility DL and sometimes TE JJ Watt, were the men who hauled in the scores. Arian Foster continues to show good form with 138 rushing yards and a Touchdown, while Alfred Blue looks like a reasonable backup with 11 carries for 40 yards. For Oakland, David Carr's younger brother, Derek shows he has potential with some nicely thrown balls, and some horrible ones. He ended up with 263 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs on 27 of 42 passing. His TD was caught by James Jones, who is an intriguing prospect at WR for these Raiders. He had 9 catches for 112 yards and that score, and may well be productive with Carr at QB. Darren McFadden replaced the unavailable Maurice Jones Drew, and had 21 yards fewer rushing than his QB (58 v 37). He did find the endzone on 1 of those 12 carries though, and also caught 2 passes for 31 yards for a reasonable fantasy day.

Sunday night's game was a belter. The Chicago Bears looked down and out at the party to open the San JoseSan Francisco 49ers' new stadium, but rallied impressively behind the much maligned Jay Cutler to snatch a great win. Cutler ended up with only 176 yards on 23/34 passing, but he had 4 TDs. The main man at the end of those TD passes was the ultra impressive Brandon Marshall, who was playing with an ankle injury, yet ended up with 5 catches for 48 yards and a hat trick of scores. Alshon Jeffrey was limited with a hamstring injury, but had 3 catches for 47 yards himself. The other Touchdown grabber was also the high man for receiving, Martellus Bennet, as he had 6 other receptions, as well as the score, for a total of 37 yards. Matt Forte, however, struggled with only 21 yards on 12 carries. He did have another 5 catches for 15 yards, but so far this season he is totalling 13 receptions for 102 yards and 103 yards rushing. the receptions are fine, but the rushing needs to pick up. He also hasn't found the endzone yet, which is important in our scoring too. The 49ers will be sick to lose their first game at their new home, but of more importance may be the injury to Vernon Davis. He left the game with what may be a sprain in the 4th quarter, and may be out for up to 4 weeks. Given how productive he was in week 1, they could do without that loss. In this game he had 3 receptions for 39 yards before the injury. Michael Crabtree was the top receiver for the Niners with 7 catches for 82 yards and a TD, while Frank Gore was the main orthodox rusher with 63 yards on 13 carries, as Carlos Hyde continues to be on very sparse rations in terms of carries. Colin Kaepernick had a good day on the ground with 66 yards, although he coughed one up, but he was very errratic through the air. He started well, but ended up with 248 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTS. Hard to win with turnovers in the NFL, and Kaepernick kept throwing interceptions when he couldn't afford to.


Finally, onto the Monday night game, and a big, big win for Chip Kelly and his high paced Philadelphia Eagles over the hometown Indianapolis Colts 30-27 on a last minute field goal from Cody Parkey after the Colts had seemed in control. The story of this game is undoubtedly Darren Sproles, as the diminutive dual threat running back gained 152 yards from 7 receptions as well as a Rushing TD on 26 yards on the ground. Nick Foles overcame a stuttery opening to end up with 331 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, while Zach Ertz and Jeremy Maclin were the others to do damage through the air, with Maclin hauling in the the TD pass. LeSean McCoy added a TD on the ground, with 79 yards on 20 rushing attempts, while Foles himself had 22 rushing yards. The Colts had some solid performances, but threw away a game they should have won. Andrew Luck had only 172 yards through the air, but had 3 TDs and just the 1 INT. Ironically, his main threat through the air was Ahmad Bradshaw, the RB, who ended up with 2 TDs on 5 receptions. TY Hilton had 6 receptions and 65 yards, but no score, while the other passing TD was caught by TE Jack Doyle, who doesn't play hurling for Tipperary, but does catch touchdowns for the Colts.  Trent Richardson looked a lot better at times, with 79 yards on 21 carries, and 1 reception, but he put the ball on the ground twice, and that is not a good thing when Ahmad Bradshaw is looking for work.

[Oraisteach]

AZ, I'd struggle to come up with enough text to fill a Twitter post---you have the pole position for the Earnest Commissioner of the Year award

[AZOffaly]

Finally, our scores for the week...

Montana Superbowl

Faithful Turfmen B 156.34 - 126.30 Coolera Bears
Smackdown Clowns 122.12 - 135.87 New York Jets VIII
Ruthless Rossies 103.25 - 121.49 Savage Bears
Ballyhaise Bills 95.09 - 88.97 hegan's clowns
Oraisteach's Browns 96.78 - 119.57 Colm O'Mealoid


Payton B Championship
Faithful Turfmen 109.17 - 97.14 Bear You to Shreds
Red Hand Helmets 123.12 - 129.13 L'Esprit De Biff
Galway Bay Tribesmen 99.25 - 96.23 Gary O'Neill's Team
Big Apple Orchards 139.09 - 148.21 Crossmaglen Hitmen
Rehab Is 4 Quitters 109.54 - 83.92 M4S Someday


Jerry Rice C Championship
Faithful Turfmen C 129.44 - 87.63 UShane's Bolts
Antrim89 128.97 - 81.47 Insane Clowney Posse
FermanaghandSam 64.33  - 159.30 Sean's Team
Troy PolaMAYO 99.55 - 85.02 Ronan's Team
Oakleaf Dolphins 137.94 - 128.06 Geezers49ers
David's Superb Team 108.30 - 93.83 Mayo Monsters

[dec]

Great write up. I went to bed on Monday night ahead of Crossmaglen Hitmen but Sproles killed me at the end.

[AZOffaly]

Adrian Petersen suspended indefinitely! I'd say he's done for the year. The Vikings have suspended him in such a way that he must stay away from all team facilities and activities.

The NFL is really struggling to handle these issues, and are doing a bad job of it. On Monday Petersen was 'back with the team and expected to play on Sunday'.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Reports on Twitter of another domestic violence arrest. Arizona Cardinals RB John Dwyer

[AZOffaly]

Fucks sake.

[AZOffaly]

The Cardinals deactivated Jonathan Dwyer a couple of hours later. Proper order. This is ridiculous. This weekend you have Ray Rice, Adrian Petersen, Greg Hardy and now Jonathan Dwyer suspended for off field violence. I think the NFL is taking a serious pasting on this, and it's because they fannied around with Ray Rice and Petersen first off.

[David McKeown]

The Cardinals deactivated Jonathan Dwyer a couple of hours later. Proper order. This is ridiculous. This weekend you have Ray Rice, Adrian Petersen, Greg Hardy and now Jonathan Dwyer suspended for off field violence. I think the NFL is taking a serious pasting on this, and it's because they fannied around with Ray Rice and Petersen first off.

They were entirely right to faff around with Peterson. Dwyer should be in the same boat, neither man has been convicted of anything yet and it's not for the NFL to play the role of jury before all the evidence comes out. If they are convicted by all means throw the book at them but until then all men should be presumed innocent.

[AZOffaly]

OK, before we talk about Week 3, lets look at the best possible squad for Week 2.

Team of the Week


QB - Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) 346 Yards, 3 TDs, 1 2pt Conversion, 25.32 Points


-------------------------

RB1 - Darren Sproles (Philadelphia Eagles)  26 Yards Rushing, 1 Rushing TD, 7 Receptions, 152 Receiving Yards, 26.53 Points.


RB2 - Knile Davis (Kansas City Chiefs)  79 Rushing Yards, 2 Rushing TDs,  6 Receptions 26 Receiving Yards 23.25 points


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WR1 - Jordy Nelson (Green Bay Packers)  9 Receptions, 209 Receiving Yards, 34.45 points


WR2 - Brandon Marshall (Chicago Bears)  5 Receptions, 48 Receiving Yards, 3 TDs, 25.40 points



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TE - Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints)  10 Receptions, 118 Receiving Yards, 2 TDs, 29.90 Points



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WR/RB/TE - Antonio Gates (Tight End, San Diego Chargers) 7 Receptions, 96 Receiving Yards, 3 TDs, 29.80 points


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K - Dan Bailey (Dallas Cowboys) 19 Points


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Team DEF - New England Patriots 7 points allowed, 6 sacks, 4 Interceptions, 1 TD,  1 Blocked Kick, 37 Points



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DB1 - Antoine Cason (Corner Back, Carolina Panthers) 7 Tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery,  19.00 Points


DB2 - Jonathan Joseph (Corner Back, Houston Texans)  4 Tackles, 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery, 16 Points.


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LB - Ryan Kerrigan (Washington Redskins), 4 Tackles, 4 Sacks, 1 Pass Defended, 21 Points


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DL - Chandler Jones (New England Patriots), 6 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 1 TD, 1 Blocked Kick, 22 points.