Lewis’ Power Rankings: Week 4

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

1. New York Giants (1) (3-0). The defending Champions get some respect as they finally stand at the #1 spot.

2. Tennessee Titans (4) (4-0). The team may not have the best offense, but with a great defense and good run game this team will continue to win.

3. Buffalo Bills (5) (4-0). It wasn’t the most impressive win against the Rams, but a win is a win.

4. Washington Redskins (11) (3-1). The Redskins have allowed only 7 points in the 4th quarter this year. If they keep that up they should win several games.

5. Dallas Cowboys (1) (3-1). With the Browns and Packers appearing to be worst than we thought and a near loss to PHI at home, this team’s wins are now looking less impressive.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers (7) (3-1). Impressive win in OT against a tough team, but this team has now suffered many injuries and their schedule only gets tougher.

7. San Diego Chargers (9) (2-2). A loss at Oakland would have been devastating. Either way this team is still the most talented in the AFC.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (15) (3-1). If it wasn’t for a 4 point loss at NO, this team would be undefeated.

9. Carolina Panthers (10) (3-1). Jonathan Stewart has scored 4 TDs in all 4 games. He’s the type of running back you want in fantasy football.

10. Chicago Bears (16) (2-2). A 4 play goal line stand might have saved this team’s season. Sounds very similar to the Giants doing the same thing to the Redskins last year.

11. Philadelphia Eagles (3) (2-2). Even with their #1 WR, RB, and TE out their is no excuse for them to not get 1 yard with 4 chances with the game on the line.

12. Denver Broncos (6) (3-1). Losing to Kansas City by 14 is very bad. This defense has given up over 32 points the last 3 games.

13. Green Bay Packers (8) (2-2). The honeymoon with Rodgers and Packers fans seem to be over as he has his 1st bad game. However, GB has faced 2 very good teams the last 2 weeks.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (14) (2-2). This team was 1 play away from going 1-3, but a Garrard run saved this team and possibly their season.

15. New England Patriots (12) (2-1). The upcoming west coast trip will test this team and will give them a chance to redeem themselves after the debacle against Miami.

16. Indianapolis Colts (17) (1-2). The Colts need to start winning again if they want to keep up with TEN and JAC.

17. Baltimore Ravens (19) (2-1). A tough loss after having a 10 point lead at half against a divisional opponent.

18. New Orleans Saints (18) (2-2). The offense looks good despite all the injuries this team has suffered.

19. New York Jets (20) (2-2). The offense looked great with Favre throwing 6 TDs, the problem is their defense allowed 35 points in the 2nd half.

20. Arizona Cardinals (13) (2-2). ARI had a tough time on their east coast trip with back to back losses.

21. San Francisco 49ers (21) (2-2). Did anyone think this team would be tied for the division lead after week 4?

22. Atlanta Falcons (22) (2-2). The Falcons have looked good at home against bad teams, but bad on the road against good teams.

23. Miami Dolphins (23) (1-2). Ronnie Brown looked great agaisnt NE. Now can he look great for the rest of the season?

24. Seattle Seahawks (24) (1-2). Tough game next week when they visit the defending champs.

25. Minnesota Vikings (25) (1-3). As bad as the Vikings have looked they are only 1 game behind the division leaders.

26. Oakland Raiders (26) (1-3). A win against SD could have saved Kiffin his job, but blowing a 15 point lead may finally be the reason Davis needs to fire him.

27. Cleveland Browns (27) (1-3). This team barely beat a bad team in the Bengals. The good news is they were 1-3 last season before finishing 10-6.

28. Houston Texans (28) (0-3). The Texans had the Jags at 4th and 8 with 2 and a half minutes left. However, the Texans couldn’t stop them and allowed a Jag TD.

29. Kansas City Chiefs (32) (1-3). Impressive win against an undefeated division opponent.

30. Cincinnati Bengals (29) (0-4). This team just seems to get worst and worst.

31. Detroit Lions (30) (0-3). With Millen finally gone, the Lions can finally look forward to the #2 pick in the draft.
 
32. St. Louis Rams (31) (0-4). Even with a coaching change this team should still lose a lot of games.

Week 4 Start’Em Sit’Em

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

Start’Em:

Brian Griese: The Packers pass defense is ranked 22nd in the league and have allowed 4 TDs and 666 passing yards already. Griese’s INT numbers do worry me, but the loss of Al Harris makes this secondary even weaker and should allow Griese to score multiple TDs.

Michael Pittman: Pittman goes against the 31st ranked run defense this week at KC. They have allowed 6 rushing TDs already while Pittman has scored 4 already. Pittman won’t get you a lot of yards since Young is the starter. However, Pittman has goal line and Denver should score a lot of points against the Chiefs.

Lee Evans: Evans is going against the Rams who are 30th in pass defense. They have allowed 7 passing TDs and 817 passing yards. Evans has yet to catch a TD, but he’s 12 in the league in receiving yards and should finally break his way into the endzone this week.

Sit”Em:

Ben Roethlisberger: Big Ben goes up against the #1 pass defense in the Ravens, who have allowed only 1 passing TD, on a Monday night showdown. Last week Big Ben was sacked 8 times and his offense line should have a tough time with the Ravens defense. Without Willie Parker there run game will suffer and Big Ben will need to carry the team making it easier for the Ravens to predict the Steelers plays.

Matt Forte: Forte is going up against the #1 rush defense in the Eagles who have only allowed 137 yards (2.4 avg). In addition the Eagles have only allowed 1 rushing TD and that was in the 4th qt against Marion Barber.

Torry Holt: Even with a new QB starting I recommend benching Holt. He is going up against the 6th ranked pass defense in the Bills. The Bills have allowed only 2 passing TDs and Holt is 56th in the league in terms of receiving yards. Also Holt has only 1 TD and is averaging less than 4 recs a game.

Week 3 Expert Pick Results

Matchups	James	Lewis	The Booch	Dutra
Chiefs @ Falcons	Falcons W	Falcons W	Falcons W	Falcons W
Raiders @ Bills	Bills W	Bills W	Bills W	Bills W
Buccaneers @ Bears	Bears L	Bears L	Buccaneers W	Bears L
Texans @ Titans	Titans W	Texans L	Titans W	Titans W
Panthers @ Vikings	Panthers  L	Panthers L	Panthers L	Vikings W
Dolphins @ Patriots	Patriots L	Patriots L	Patriots L	Patriots L
Bengals @ Giants	Giants W	Giants W	Giants W	Giants W
Cardinals @ Redskins	Redskins W	Cardinals L	Redskins W	Cardinals L
Lions @ 49ers	49ers W	49ers W	49ers W	49ers W
Rams @ Seahawks	Seahawks W	Seahawks W	Seahawks W	Seahawks W
Saints @ Broncos	Broncos W	Broncos W	Broncos W	Broncos W
Steelers @ Eagles	Eagles W	Eagles W	Eagles W	Steelers L
Jaguars @ Colts	Jaguars W	Colts L	Jaguars W	Jaguars W
Browns @ Ravens	Browns L	Browns L	Browns L	Browns L
Cowboys @ Packers	Cowboys W	Packers L	Cowboys W	Cowboys W
Jets @ Chargers Records	Chargers W 32-15	Chargers W 25-22	Chargers W 32-15	Chargers W 26-21

Week 3 Start’Em Sit’Em Recap

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

Mediocre week 3 for my predictions. I hope you listened to my sit’em, but not my start’em

Start’Em:

Jon Kitna: Kitna threw for only 146 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and committed 1 fumble. In addition Kitna finished 27th for the week in passing yards.

Sammy Morris: With Maroney out and Jordan doubtful against a bad Miami defense Morris seemed like a great start. I was wrong. Morris rushed for only 27 yards on 9 carries (3 avg).

Anthony Gonzalez: After a great week 2, the former 1st round pick only had 2 recs for 37 yards.

Sit’Em:

Derek Anderson: Anderson was horrendous. He threw for only 125 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, and committed 1 fumble. It seems like even real coaches are taking my advice in benching Anderson since Cleveland is preparing Quinn to start soon.

Edgerrin James: Edge seems to have had a good game with 93 yards. However, he scored 0 TDs and committed 1 fumble. In a standard Yahoo! league Edge would have only scored 2 points.

Braylon Edwards: The Pro Bowl WR only had 3 recs for 27 yards. The Browns all together have just looked plain bad.

With a 0-3 in start’em and a 3-0 in sit’em my overall record is 12-6. Next week I’ll try to improve that record.

Lewis’ NFL Power Rankings: Week 3

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

It has been just 3 weeks, but the entire landscape of the NFL has changed. The behemoth that was the AFC is crumbling and the top 3 teams in the league (according to these rankings) are in the same division.

1. Dallas Cowboys (1) (3-0). Beating PHI at home and CLE and GB on the road is very impressive. It seems this team might be too talented to lose this year.

2. New York Giants (2) (3-0). The Super Bowl Champs are playing great and look like one of the few true elite teams in the NFL right now.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (5) (2-1). The Eagles could very well be 3-0 and #1 on this list if it wasn’t for a 4th quarter fumble in Dallas.

4. Tennessee Titans (7) (3-0). This team has many questions at QB and WR, but its hard to find any other ??? on this team.

5. Buffalo Bills (9) (3-0). A near lose to Oakland at home is unacceptable. I hope this team doesn’t buy into the hype too much and begin to fall now that people recognize how good they are.

6. Denver Broncos (8) (3-0). The offense looks great and is a threat to put up 30+ every week. The problem is their defense seems to give up 30+ every week as well.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (3) (2-1). The past 2 weeks the offense has only put up 10 and 6 points. That number has to increase in order to stay competitive in this league.

8. Green Bay Packers (4) (2-1). Tough loss at home to Dallas. The defense gave up big plays and Rodgers wasn’t able to get the offense in a consistent rhythme.

9. San Diego Chargers (11) (1-2). This team could easily be 3-0 and the power house in the AFC, but questions about their defense and inability to stop teams late have them barely in the top 10.

10. Carolina Panthers (10) (2-1). Who would guess that the Panthers offense would perform better without Steve Smith than with him.

11. Washington Redskins (15) (2-1). This just shows how great the NFC East is when there worst team is ranked at 11th.

12. New England Patriots (6) (2-1). Embarrasing lose to Miami at home. That was the worst loss in Gilette Stadium history and is the first time the Patriots are not in 1st place of the AFC East since week 6 of 2003.

13. Arizona Cardinals (13) (2-1). Tough loss on the road. This team still needs to prove its worth the hype.

14. Jacksonville Jaguars (18) (1-2). Great win on the road at a divisional opponent. Most telling stat is the Jags had a 2-1 advantage in time of possession. Also in the 2nd half the Colts only had the ball for about 4 minutes.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (19) (2-1). Many people are doubting this team, but they were nearly 3-0 with a close loss to NO on the road and they did win the division last year.

16. Chicago Bears (14) (1-2). Two devastating losses back to back after that great win in Indy.

17. Indianapolis Colts (12) (1-2). If Tavaris Jackson didn’t suck so bad this team would be 0-3 and in a desperate situation.

18. New Orleans Saints (16) (1-2). This supposed new and improved defense has allowed 20, 29, and 34 points this season.

19. Baltimore Ravens (21) (2-0). I’m not ready to jump on this team’s bandwagon just yet since they’ve beaten 2 teams that are 0-3, but if they beat a good team the Ravens should rise very high in the rankings.

20. New York Jets (17) (1-2). A tough schedule so far has them at 1-2, but the schedule gets easier and they could still be a threat in the AFC.

21. San Francisco 49ers (22) (2-1). Here’s another team that I’m not ready to jump on just yet. Week 5 against the Patriots should show if this team is for real or not.

22. Atlanta Falcons (27) (2-1). They have beaten 2 bad teams and lost to 1 good team. If they learn to beat some good teams this team could be a threat for the division.

23. Miami Dolphins (31) (1-2). In their past 23 games they have only won 3. Two of those wins came against the Patriots. Go figure.

24. Seattle Seahawks (24) (1-2). If Julius Jones can continue to run like he did Sunday than the Seahawks won’t need any WRs to catch the ball.

25. Minnesota Vikings (25) (1-2). Going with the veteran QB is a great short term move, but is it the right long term move?

26. Oakland Raiders (26) (1-2). The last second loss to Buffalo may have well cost Lane Kiffin his job, which means Christmas has come early for Kiffin who can get away from Al Davis.

27. Cleveland Browns (20) (0-3). The biggest disappointment of the NFL. This high powered offense of a year ago has scored 10, 6, and 10 points so far this season.

28. Houston Texans (23) (0-2). With all the devastation around the city of Houston you wonder how much the Texans can focus on football.

29. Cincinnati Bengals (29) (0-3). The team suffered a crushing loss to the SB Champs. The only good news is they are not far behind the leaders of their division.

30. Detroit Lions (28) (0-3). In order to reach Kitna’s goals of 10 wins this season the Lions would need to go 10-3 the rest of the year. Outlook: very doubtful.

31. St. Louis Rams (30) (0-3). This team has so many ??? I don’t know what they need to fix first.

32. Kansas City Chiefs (32) (0-3). Dating back to last season they have lost 12 straight now and it could be 19 straight with the schedule they have.

Week 3 Last Minute Fantasy Injury Report

Here are some injury headlines and updates across the NFL that could have an impact on your fantasy roster:

Adrian Peterson - The Associated Press reports Minnesota Vikings RB Chester Taylor will start Sunday, Sept. 21, against the Carolina Panthers if RB Adrian Peterson (hamstring) is not able to play. Even if Peterson does play, Taylor could see a larger load in Week 3 because of Peterson’s injury. 

Notes: Tough call here, but unless you have an amazing, productive option on your bench, start him. Chester Taylor owners should start him if possible.

Darren McFadden, Michael Bush - Jerry McDonald, of ANG Newspapers, reports Oakland Raiders RB Michael Bush could be the team’s lead back Week 3, depending on the condition of RB Darren McFadden (toe).

Notes: If you have room, Bush is certainly worth the pickup off the waiver wire. If you have other options, I don’t necessarily like either of them against the Bill’s surprisngly strong defense.

 

Dallas Clark – Dallas Clark is not on Indianappolis’s team injury report, and looks to start week 3.

Notes: Great news for Dallas Clark owners. You can now drop your crappy TE.

Ladanian Tomlinson – Tomlinson’s is expected to play week 3, but his action may be limited due to a toe injury.

Notes: Start him, or if you have the explosive Darren Sproles, start him as well. Being a Monday night game is a positive sign for LT as he will get an extra day of rest.

Laurence Maroney - New England Patriots RB Laurence Maroney (shoulder) was limited during practice Friday, Sept. 19. He is listed as questionable for Week 3 and is not expected to play in the game.

Note: Sammy Morris is a great start, as Lamont Jordan is doubful for this game as well. 

 

For more information on this week’s injury reports, please visit http://www.nfl.com/injuries

Week 3 Expert Picks

Matchups	James	Lewis	The Booch	Dutra
Chiefs @ Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
Raiders @ Bills	Bills	Bills	Bills	Bills
Buccaneers @ Bears	Bears	Bears	Buccaneers	Bears
Texans @ Titans	Titans	Texans	Titans	Titans
Panthers @ Vikings	Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Vikings
Dolphins @ Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
Bengals @ Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Cardinals @ Redskins	Redskins	Cardinals	Redskins	Cardinals
Lions @ 49ers	49ers	49ers	49ers	49ers
Rams @ Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Saints @ Broncos	Broncos	Broncos	Broncos	Broncos
Steelers @ Eagles	Eagles	Eagles	Eagles	Steelers
Jaguars @ Colts	Jaguars	Colts	Jaguars	Jaguars
Browns @ Ravens	Browns	Browns	Browns	Browns
Cowboys @ Packers	Cowboys	Packers	Cowboys	Cowboys
Jets @ Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers

Week 3 Start’Em Sit’Em

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

My picks have been good so far with a solid record of 9-3. Here’s this week’s Start’Em Sit’Em

Start’Em:

Jon Kitna: Currently he is 8th in the league in passing yards and has thrown for 4 TDs which is tied for 3rd in the league. The San Francisco pass defense is only slightly above average ranking 14th in the league. With the emergence of Calvin Johnson as an elite WR, Kitna should be a safe play this week.

Sammy Morris: In the first 2 games of the year Morris has scored a TD. In addition in the 7 games he’s played in a Patriots uniform, Morris has scored a TD 5 times. Now if your in a league where you receive a point for only 5 yards rushing than your better off starting someone else. However, in a standard league where 10 or 20 rushing yards equal a point than Morris is a great start this week.

Anthony Gonzalez: The 2nd year WR has become one of Peyton’s go to guys. With the continueing demise of Marvin Harrison, Gonzalez became an intrigal part of this offense. Last week he was one of the main reasons the team came back from a 15 point deficit.

Sit’Em:

Derek Anderson: Anderson is currently 29th in the league in passing yards and has only 1 TD with 2 INTs. The Baltimore defense only allowed 99 passing yards and 0 passing TDs when they faced the great Bengal offense led by Carson Palmer. The Browns haven’t looked good all preseason regular season. Until they return to form I recommend starting another QB.

Edgerrin James: At the moment James only has 155 yards (3.5 avg) and 0 TDs. His longest run so far is only 13 yards and it seems Tim Hightower has taken the goal line carries.

Braylon Edwards: Similar to the Anderson situation I recommend benching Edwards. If Anderson is struggling that means Edwards will struggle. Edwards isn’t even in the top 50 in the league in terms of yards. He’s barely in the top 100. Currently Edwards is in 99th in terms of receiving yards and is behind WRs like Dane Looker and Billy McMullen. I bet most people don’t know who those 2 WRs are and what teams they play for. Eventually the Browns offense should get back on track, but it shouldn’t happen against the Baltimore defense.

Lewis’ NFL Power Rankings- Week 2

David Lewis, Vice President of Operations

1. Dallas Cowboys (1) (2-0). Great comeback from behind win against a strong divisional opponent.
   
2. New York Giants (3) (2-0). More people need to remember who the defending Super Bowl Champion is. This team is not receiving a lot of respect right now from fans or media.
   
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (2) (2-0). They essentially have a 3 game lead over the Browns now with a 2-0 record and the tie breaker at the moment.
   
4. Green Bay Packers (8) (2-0). I have said it all along that the Packers would actually be better with Rodgers than Favre. The Packers are finally showing that.
   
5. Philadelphia Eagles (4) (1-1). Tough loss last week. They should have won, but they proved that Donovan McNabb has returned to one of the best in the game.
   
6. New England Patriots (7) (2-0). The Patriots proved they can win games without Brady, but in order to win more they will need to improve their red zone offense.
   
7. Tennessee Titans (10) (2-0). With the Colts and Jaguars struggling the Titans seem like legitimate candidates to win the division.
   
8. Denver Broncos (13) (2-0). The Broncos are very lucky to have won Sunday. Their defense will need to improve even with the stellar performances of Jay Cutler if they want to continue winning.
   
9. Buffalo Bills (9) (2-0). The Bills are the real deal and have a great chance of getting in the playoffs with the shake up in the AFC.
   
10. Carolina Panthers (14) (2-0). The Cardiac Cats are officially back. Just like in 2003, the year they went to the Super Bowl, the Panthers are having great come from behind wins.
    
11. San Diego Chargers (3) (0-2). The Super Bowl contender has suffered 2 devastating losses. The good news for them is they still have an easy schedule.
    
12. Indianapolis Colts (6) (1-1). Their win was more vindictive of how bad Tarvaris Jackson is than how good the Colts are.
    
13. Arizona Cardinals (17) (2-0). With Seattle fading and Warner playing great, the Cardinals are finally living up to the hype they’ve received the past 5 years.
    
14. Chicago Bears (22) (1-1). Only the Bears could make a big jump with a loss. They were very close to 2-0, but couldn’t stop Delhomme from having his vintage come back.
    
15. Washington Redskins (19) (1-1). The Redskins have a great come back win to keep pace with the juggernauts in their division.
    
16. New Orleans Saints (9) (1-1). Can we finally call this team the most overrated in the NFL? Whenever we think they can become an elite team they blow a big lead in the 4^th quarter.
    
17. New York Jets (16) (1-1). People can now realize that this team still needs some work before they can overtake the Brady less Patriots for the division.
    
18. Jacksonville Jaguars (11) (0-2). If the Saints are the most overrated this team is the most disappointing. Garrard threw only 3 INTs last season. In 2 games so far he already has 3 INTs.
    
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (20) (1-1). Garcia led this team to the playoffs last year, but it seems Griese has taken the starting job for now.
    
20. Cleveland Browns (14) (0-2). They have played 2 great teams so far, but this team has not looked right the entire preseason and season.
    
21. Baltimore Ravens (23) (1-0). This defense can prove they are still one of the best when they face off against a great offense in Cleveland Sunday.
    
22. San Francisco 49ers (31) (1-1). Shocking win in Seattle. Most people don’t expect a lot out of this team. Now they can try to prove us all wrong.
    
23. Houston Texans (24) (0-1). The loss of a bye week will hurt this team down the road.
    
24. Seattle Seahawks (18) (0-2). Arguably the most pathetic team of all the preseason favorites. Eventually Hasselbeck will just have to throw to himself since he keeps losing WRs.
    
25. Minnesota Vikings (21) (0-2). You can’t try to beat the Colts without scoring a single touchdown. Sunday it was proven that the Colts will eventually come back to win unless you get 7 and not 3.
    
26. Oakland Raiders (30) (1-1). After a great win on the road against a divisional opponent all people can talk about is when will Lane Kiffin be fired.
    
27. Atlanta Falcons (25) (1-1). It seems we were premature in thinking the Falcons could actually be a good team after week 1.
    
28. Detroit Lions (29) (0-2). The Lions had their greatest come back in franchise history by overcoming a 21 point deficit, only to lose by 23 points!
    
29. Cincinnati Bengals (26) (0-2). This great offense seems out of sync the past couple of weeks.
    
30. St. Louis Rams (32) (0-2). The Rams were actually competitive for about a quarter and a half. So out of a total of 8 quarters they have been competitive for a quarter and a half.
    
31. Miami Dolphins (27) (0-2). The Cardinals offense just plain abused the Miami defense. It’s never good when the opposing quarterback has a perfect quarterback rating against your defense.
    
32. Kansas City Chiefs (28) (0-2). It’s quite embarrassing to lose at home to a team that has as much drama and sucks as bad as Oakland.

Expert Pick Results

Matchups	James	Lewis	The Booch	Dutra
Titans @ Bengals	Titans	Bengals	Titans	Titans
Packers @ Lions	Packers	Packers	Packers	Packers
Raiders @ Chiefs	Raiders	Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs
Giants @ Rams	Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Colts @ Vikings	Colts	Vikings	Colts	Vikings
Saints @ Redskins	Redskins	Redskins	Saints	Saints
Bears @ Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Bears
Bills @ Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars	Bills
49es @ Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahwaks	49ers
Falcons @ Buccaneers	Falcons	Falcons	Buccaneers	Falcons
Patriots @ Jets	Patriots	Patriots	Jets	Patriots
Dolphins @ Cardinals	Cardinals	Cardinals	Cardinals	Cardinals
Chargers @ Broncos	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Broncos
Steelers @ Browns	Steelers	Browns	Steelers	Browns
Eagles @ Cowboys Ravens @ Texans Overall	Cowboys Texans 21-10	Eagles Texans 17-14	Eagles Texans 19-12	Cowboys Ravens 16-15