CubmanPi

No, I meant the only game on TV is in standard def. That was whining, not useful information. My bad.

Nah, I'm in the wrong part of Cali for that. Need to find a way to watch at home, so the wife can watch too and we can split toddler-chasing duties.

The only game showing in this time slot out here is the Raiders-Bills game. In SD. Any idea if there's a stream somewhere out there I can pull up to watch?

I've seen some mixed predictions on Sproles, though some of the doubt is misplaced because I think the Bears defense is going to have one of its rougher weeks. If Moreno is for sure out, McGahee could be a solid choice too. McGahee will be lower risk, Sproles is higher reward.

I think the Bears can win, but I don't see 27 points being enough to do it. The Bears defense will keep the Saints from posting cartoonish numbers, but this weekend could be the worst week of the season for points and yards allowed. That doesn't mean they won't win. Bears are underrated, due to all the out-of-control Cutler hate. He'll put up very good numbers, as he usually does. With 5:00 to go in the 4th, there will be more than 60 combined points on the board and it will be a one possession game.

Actually, now that I think about it, since Gibson goes Monday night, I'll keep him as my plan B to Nicks if he ends up not playing, and I'll just start Edwards. That way I can drop Hixon (the Giants' plan B to Hicks) and pick up Gaffney for the bench.

With Amendola out and Bradford in, and the Giants' injured secondary, I think Gibson is a good shot. I claimed him this week and will start him to give Braylon Edwards/Alex Smith another week to figure it out. Then Gaffney, based on matchups.

I haven't gone back to see who was available at the time I drafted Flacco, but reaching for a higher-quality backup in hopes it would prove to be valuable trade bait turned out to be a pretty dumb idea. I didn't realize how easy it would be to come up with a suitable replacement for QB, even in a 14-team league. I also didn't realize the small point difference between a solid week from Flacco and a week of relative non-failure from a QB like McCoy. I've decided that if I want my quarterback situation to turn into a benefit at RB, I'll probably have to be willing to part with Romo and then ride it out with Flacco the rest of the way. I also really hope Daniel Thomas sees some success this week and can earn a bigger share of the load in Miami.

I don't think this is accurate at all. Ray Lewis was the starting MLB on a Super Bowl champion team that went something like 22 consecutive quarters during the regular season without scoring an offensive touchdown. (ETA - The Ravens still won 3 games during that stretch.) The quarterback for that Superbowl champion team was Trent Dilfer. Urlacher's defense led a team to the Superbowl with Grossman in charge (better than Dilfer), and they only took second that year. That year was the first of 7 playoff appearances for the Ravens, while Urlacher has only been part of 4 playoff teams. EDIT - I'm only addressing the Urlacher-Lewis comparison, not his overall HOF chances. He'll get in. hailing the awesomeness of the bears offense at really any time in history is not a good idea. saying grossman was better than dilfer so lewis is better than urlacher is kind of baffling. the ravens were a very good running team with one of the best left tackles that ever put on an NFL uniform and they were basically middle of the pack in terms of scoring offense. if you want to talk about terrible quarterbacks, the list starts in chicago with the guys who have been here since urlacher arrived, you're probably barking up the wrong tree, there. lewis couldn't play mike in our defense, not like urlacher, whereas i have little doubt that urlacher could extend his career a few years playing in that 3-4 the ravens utilize. You compared how important each person is to what their team has accomplished. I wasn't saying Grossman>Dilfer so Lewis>Urlacher. I wasn't hailing the awesomeness of the Bears defense, I was hailing the offensive ineptitude of that year's Ravens team, and that they still sealed the deal, which speaks more to their defense. All I'm saying is that looking at their accomplishments in the context of what their teams have done over the years only seems to strengthen the case for Lewis in comparing the two.

I don't think this is accurate at all. Ray Lewis was the starting MLB on a Super Bowl champion team that went something like 22 consecutive quarters during the regular season without scoring an offensive touchdown. (ETA - The Ravens still won 3 games during that stretch.) The quarterback for that Superbowl champion team was Trent Dilfer. Urlacher's defense led a team to the Superbowl with Grossman in charge (better than Dilfer), and they only took second that year. That year was the first of 7 playoff appearances for the Ravens, while Urlacher has only been part of 4 playoff teams. EDIT - I'm only addressing the Urlacher-Lewis comparison, not his overall HOF chances. He'll get in.

Need 2 for RB and Flex spot: Frank Gore Darren Sproles Steve Johnson

Cadillac Williams. Flip a coin on the other two.

Pre-draft, fftoolbox ranked Ray Rice #5 in standard scoring, #2 in PPR. In my 14-team league, he fell to me in the 11th overall pick, and the first ten people in the draft all said that PPR altered their opinion of him in the opposite direction. Also, Brandon Marshall is looking like another solid pick I landed because of them. Rice Nicks Marshall Romo Jimmy Graham worked out VERY well in week 1.

This is definitely a logical approach, but is the most effective use of the bench really just to give yourself the best odds on bye weeks?

Starks.

They were in first on July 20th. They're 16-38 since then. Ouch.

Busted.

pick 2: Roddy White (v Phi) Mike Williams (@Min) Steve Johnson (v Oak) Nate Burleson (v KC)

Bears have a better chance of scoring if one of their players has the ball. ETA - http://th631.photobucket.com/albums/uu36/sfields145/th_Beating_a_dead_horse.jpg

(mine too) Typical Bears luck. *runs*

I'm in my first ffb season, and I'm realizing that there's no middle ground between over-thinking and just not paying attention.

Seems like blowing a team out does more damage to a QB's numbers than playing a solid defense does. Flacco put up huge numbers against Pittsburgh, Brees put up 400 yds against the Packers, and half of Aaron Rodgers's yards came in the 1st quarter, then the Packers slowed the pace in favor of clock control. (I don't get why this is a strategy over scoreboard control, but oh well.) Schaub isn't in the same discussion talent-wise, but I'm sure he could have put up more than 8 points against Indy had there been a necessity. If the Bears hold Brees to 250/2/1, that could be considered about as much of a shutdown as anyone can hope for. Think about those numbers, then think about Alex Smith. Then think about Brees throwing for 400+ against the Packers. Then drop Alex Smith and pick up Devery Henderson.

With the Bears playing the Saints, and with Urlacher possibly out of town, I'm looking at dropping Ochocinco and picking up a second defense. Options I'm considering: Broncos (v Cin) Bills (v Oak) Dal (@ SF) Cle (@ Ind) thoughts?

I wouldn't think that's much of an upset, then looked and saw that it's SD+7-9. Gonna be fun to watch the moneyline change on that one. Betting against New England after Brady of Nazareth throws for 517 yards is always going to be betting on an upset. I picked the Bears over the Saints too, but I won't consider that an upset. I consider that the line being drawn in the wrong place.

Holmes