Posts tagged MattForte at FanHouse

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Cincinnati (0-5) at NY Jets (2-2): I'm just going to quickly put this on the table -- when the highlight of your season thus far is your "star" wide receiver kissing the head coach on the head, things are not going well. The Bengals look to me a lot like the cast of "Entourage" looked last week trying to "act" on mushrooms. There is no way bad actors should be forced to act like they're on drugs, unless the point is to make them look very, very stupid. This goes for the Bengals. They have acted like a football team for years, but haven't really produced much, and now we get to see them on mushrooms. It isn't a pretty picture. Also, did you notice I went this entire paragraph without mentioning B _ _ _ _, F _ _ _ _? This is me, taking a stand.

Pick: Jets

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

This just in: opposing running backs annihilate the pathetic Lions' defense. Even last week when Matt Forte was only garnering 36 yards on 15 carries, he still found a way to score a TD, in addition to his receiving score. Now, let's consider that Adrian Peterson and the Vikings like to run the football and control the clock. He and his line are likely to be quite peeved after getting shut down against the Saints this past Monday night. Here comes the vengeance. All day.

- I've written about Michael Turner this week, but the bare bones are this ... you ain't runnin' in the Bears.

- I like Joseph Addai. I like him a lot. He's also had a rough go this year for various reasons -- which likely don't relate to him as a runner -- and now he's facing the Ravens top ranked rush defense.

- I understand Philly is very tough on the run. I also understand the Niners can't stay close without input from Gore. They'll find a way.

1. Adrian Peterson, vs. DET
2. Clinton Portis, vs. STL
3. Matt Forte, @ ATL
4. Brandon Jacobs, @ CLE
5. Frank Gore, vs. PHI

"Run-Run-Run-Run-Run..."

The elite Rookie RB class of 2008 continues to make waves in the Fantasy world. The likes of Matt Forte and Chris Johnson continue to flourish as Top Tier RB's, while Felix Jones and Steve Slaton continue to nip at their heals to join the elite fraternity. Of course, there are a handful of other rookie runners that continue to flirt with greatness and are probably stapled into most line-ups on Sunday afternoon.

As promised, we're taking the pulse throughout the season, ranking the runners and forecasting the road ahead...if that's possible. By now, all these guys have at least a full quarter of an NFL season in the books. Some will rise and some will fall, but let's took a look at how things are shaping up thus far. As always, this could easily change after Sunday, but for now and in order...here goes.

Value Machine checks out the overall perceived value of fantasy players. If you want to commit a fantasy felony, you'll sell high on the up arrow guys and buy low on the down arrow guys.

Well, that sucked. I'm not one to hide my mistakes, so I'll link the post where I pleaded with fantasy owners to not bench Calvin Johnson. He awarded owners with less than three measly points. Hey, I stand by my reasons. The Bears had been awful against the pass, Nathan Vasher was going to sit, and Charles Tillman was even questionable. So what happened? The Bears defense just physically dominated the Lions offense. Maybe they were tired of giving up passing yards and stepped up their game. Maybe Jon Kitna was too teary-eyed after the departure of Matt Millen. Whatever the reason, Johnson's fantasy owners suffered along with Lions fans in Week 5.

If you stumble across an irrational Johnson owner, now is the time to strike. He's uber-talented and the Lions are always going to be playing from behind. You'll see many more 15-plus point weeks over what you saw last week. Go get him.

Yep, that's the title to my Bears vs. Lions game "recap" for this week.

It's not that I think the Bears are a bad team. I don't. I'm biased, but I firmly believe the Bears are going to take the NFC North with relative ease this year. I didn't say the latter part last week, but I will now since the Packers fell at home to the Falcons.

The game still shouldn't have been this ugly, though.

Let us consider a myriad of factors that were working in the Lions' favor this week:

1. The Bears were coming off a hard-hitting, emotional victory Sunday night against the Eagles.
2. The Lions had two weeks to prepare for this game.
3. The Bears passing defense was amongst the worst in the league heading into Sunday, Nathan Vasher would not play, and Charles Tillman was to be playing through an injury.
4. The Lions had a capable passer and two extraordinarily talented wideouts.
5. The Lions had shed themselves of the off-field distraction that was Matt Millen's employment status.
6. Tommie Harris and Brandon Lloyd were also missing in action for the Monsters of the Midway.

Before the dust settled, the Lions found themselves down 31-0, benching Jon Kitna in favor of Dan Orlovsky, and seeing adequately-talented-at-best Kyle Orton obliterate career highs through the air.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Tennessee (4-0) at Baltimore (2-1): Okay, fine, I'll agree, the Titans are a good football team. They're giving up just 11.5 points per game, best in the NFL, they have a competent quarterback that doesn't do anything flashy but also doesn't make a lot of mistakes (only one interception in four games) and a rookie running back in Chris Johnson that made every fantasy owner that didn't snag him do a collective head slap. Interesting little comparison here, last week Johnson had just 19 less yards than Adrian Peterson with one less carry and as many touchdowns. Also worth noting, the 4-0 Titans have just one nationally televised game the rest of the season, October 27 against the Colts, while the Browns still have four. Does Al Davis also dabble in national television scheduling? Cool.

Pick -- Tennessee

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

This rookie class for running backs is absurd. It could easily go down as the best RB draft class of all-time. Darren McFadden, Chris Johnson, Rashard Mendenhall, Felix Jones, and Jonathan Stewart all were drafted in the first round. There are a handful of other backs with the potential to make something of their NFL careers, and this week two should be stellar contributors to your fantasy team.

Matt Forte gets to face the league's worst rushing defense after facing the best last week. He's gonna be in heaven.

Steve Slaton will take on the swiss cheese known as the 31st ranked Colts' run defense.

Both should find it quite easy to pile up stats.

- Ryan Grant ... it's now or never, man. The Falcons this week and the Colts next. If you have Grant, you have to stick with him for the next two games, but if he does nothing the writing is on the wall that last year was a fluke. I like him this week ... (fingers crossed).

1. LaDanian Tomlinson, @ MIA
2. Adrian Peterson, @ NO
3. Marion Barber, vs. CIN
4. Frank Gore, vs. NE
5. Matt Forte, @ DET

Well, I figured it was only fair since I nominated an All-Bust Team yesterday that I toss some love towards those who've gone above and beyond our expectations. Yes, despite telling you to cut scrubs week in and week out and dolling out awards for the fantasy stinkers, I do have a heart. I'll quickly define a "BUST-OUT" as the obvious -- a player we were hoping to have a big season, but weren't quite sure.

Got it? So, don't get bent out of shape when you don't see me praising Adrian Peterson, Marion Barber, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald or any of the likes. We all know those guys are the studs, but this isn't a Fantasy MVP summons. So, let's jump right into this and bestow some quarter-season praise on the surprising hero's. Shall we?

QB: Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers

Ironically this would have to be a dead tie between two guys who despise one another. Here are a couple young QBs from the same division that we just weren't 100 percent sure about. Well, not to brag (yes, I mean to brag) - I was all about Cutler during the preseason and I feel vindicated by his early performance. OK, so maybe he was pegged by a lot folks to have the "breakout" season we're seeing right now, but Rivers? Hmm.

The Bears should be 4-0. You could go back and change like two plays to make that happen. Of course, the mark of truly great teams is actually winning those games and not having to say something like I just did. Great teams take care of business and leave the word "if" out in the cold.

Here's the thing, though, in the NFC North this year, you aren't going to have to be a great team to win it.

The Vikings have plenty of issues, none of which relate to Adrian Peterson when healthy, obviously, but they have struggled out of the gate.

The Lions just suck. Again. Shocking, I know.

The Packers are better than the Bears, but not by a ton ... and Aaron Rodgers (don't you dare ever call him, "ARod" please) is hurt. Sure, he might play through it or only miss a game or two, but his injury really hurt the chances of the Packers to fulfill their potential. They have other injury problems as well. Brett Favre is not walking through that door!

Then you have the Bears. A team that won in Indy, and took down the mighty Eagles at home. Yes, the Eagles were without Brian Westbrook, but their defense -- the same one that people couldn't quit talking about before the game -- did yield 24 points to Kyle Orton.

Value Machine checks out the overall perceived value of fantasy players. If you want to commit a fantasy felony, you'll sell high on the up arrow guys and buy low on the down arrow guys.

Hopefully you traded Rashard Mendenhall, as we insinuated last week when we said his value will never be higher. Remember, fantasy sports are all about value and perception is reality in between games. Many owners flocked to Mendenhall last week because he was "replacing" Willie Parker. His perceived value skyrockets, which means it's the perfect time to spin him. Just keep this in mind as we move forward.

Top week four : Laveranues Coles ... He busted loose for 30 plus points in most leagues. The problem is that he didn't receive the majority of Brett Favre's attention and rarely will this result in three scores. Jerricho Cotchery, Chansi Stuckey, and Dustin Keller all take looks away from Coles. This was a one week ride, so hopefully you enjoyed it and can move him for good value this week.

Top week four : Carson Palmer ... He comes off his one good game of the season -- against a solid defense, no less -- and decides to not fully disclose his injury. Owners found out he couldn't go right before game time, and surely some guys were screwed over by this. Keep an eye on his health, because if he can come back, his owners will surely be pissed enough to deal him for less than market value.