NFL Brain Dump - For The Birds

Week 3 of the NFL season didn't provide fans much as far excitement goes; it pretty much was for the birds. Among the 32 franchises that comprise the NFL, five of them are nicknamed after a particular species of birds. All five - Falcons, Ravens, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Eagles - earned themselves a victory in week 3; in this sense, we can definitely say that last week was for the birds.

Both of these birds reached the end zone against the Redskins.

Paper Pigskin - Good Game Week 3

Start them and sit them, let's go!

Everybody always wants to know which guy they should put into their fantasy football lineup.  Generally, if you draft someone via a high pick, you want them to be your lead dog to just plug and leave in. However, there are some cases that you might want to avoid an elite defense that will give you trouble; the same thing goes for wanting to exploit a terrible defense. I don't subscribe to the "Never sit your studs" philosophy. Draft well, do the work, and exploit plus matchups.

Big Ben needs to take a seat in fantasy lineups this week.

NFL Brain Dump - Worst Week Ever

That was the worst week in the NFL's history. . . blah blah blah. At least that was the noise leading up to the games of week two due to off the field issues by some of the players.  I changed the channel for the most part because those aren't the things that a sports fanatic like myself care about; if you do, then more power to you.  I want to be the guy that brings it to you live and direct about the games themselves. As it turned out, however, it probably was worst week because many key players got injured in week 2.  If you're like me, and felt media coverage of this game got  over saturated with nonsense and you were turned off, here's a recap of what happened last week.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential - Good Game "Start/Sit week 2"

Welcome to my debut Start & Sit column!

If you're not familiar with my writing, when you see "Paper Pigskin Point Potential", I'm referring to FANTASY FOOTBALL.  Real cute, but I'm hoping it will stick and when it does, remember who coined the phrase.

Everybody always wants to know which guy they should put into their fantasy football lineup.  Generally, if you draft someone via a high pick, you want them to be your lead dog to just plug in and leave them in. However, there are some cases that you might want to avoid an elite defense that will give you trouble; the same thing goes for wanting to exploit a terrible defense. I don't subscribe to the "Never sit your studs" philosophy. Draft well, do the work, and exploit plus matchups.

NFL Brain Dump - Welcome Back

Welcome back to another NFL season.  The "NFL Brain Dump" is a series that I write weekly expressing my thoughts on the NFL; this means I get pour my heart out about what occurred during the previous week, whether it be football games or topics that affect the game.  This past week, Ray Rice's domestic situation and rumblings about how much the NFL knew about it is dominating discussions. That said, I'm just going to strictly do a recap of week 1 in this post.

Over their past four games going back to last season's playoffs, the Seahawks
have held Colin Kaepernick, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers
 to a combined 931 yards and a 4:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. 

Packers @ Seahawks... Seattle started the season where they left off, by shutting down a high powered offense and having Russell Wilson effortlessly carve up a defense like a fat man carves up a turkey with an electric blade on Thanksgiving. The Hawks are the NFC team to beat, while the Pack should look at this game as an aberration, it only gets easier from here.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Philadelphia Eagles

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES - Passing 257 ypg     Rushing 160 ypg

Chip Kelly ran the fastest offense in the league last season, getting off a play every 24 seconds. They also were last in the league in time of possession at 26 minutes 19 seconds per game. But most importantly were their 65.4 plays ran per game was food for 12th in the league. When Kelly took over the Eagles last season, he had players that were conditioned to Andy Reid's West Coast system, so he relied heavily on LeSean McCoy and schemed up plays to get Nick Foles comfortable; this meant featuring Desean Jackson and Riley Cooper. One summer later, a different cast of characters have been added to the lineup; guys that are more suited for his style of plays. 

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Buffalo Bills

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

BUFFALO BILLS - Passing 194 ypg     Rushing 144 ypg

Head coach Doug Marrone came into the league with a reputation of a coach that has an affinity for the ground game, and run the ball is what his team did. The Bills led the league in rushing attempts and were second in rushing yards. This season will bring us more of the same as their first round quarterback from last season still needs to be developed.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Indianapolis Colts

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS - Passing 233 ypg     Rushing 109 ypg

There's much for Paper Pigskin players to love about the Colts' point potential. They play in the what was worst division in the NFL last season  - the AFC South. Indianapolis went 6-0 against its division counterparts in 2013. Playing against weak teams to usually leads to opportunities for an offense to run more plays. 

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - New England Patriots

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS - Passing 255 ypg     Rushing 129 ypg

The talk around the league last season was about the tempo of Philadelphia's offense, when it was actually New England that began the trend (in the NFL) of lining up quick and snapping the ball before the defense gets set.  They ran the second most plays in the league last season, behind the Broncos, which equates to many opportunities for your Paper Pigskin team to acquire points. The injury bug struck this team harshly, forcing Bill Belichick to alter the game plan on a weekly basis; this made it hard to trust any of their players, even Tom Brady, in your lineup.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Seattle Seahawks

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS - Passing 202 ypg     Rushing 137 ypg

This team in the Pacific Northwest are the defending Super Bowl because they're all on the same page and make individual sacrifices for the sake of the greater good of the team. Unfortunately Seattle's team goal does nothing for the goals of Paper Pigskin players.  You see, there isn't enough individual production to go around but if you choose wisely, you can come up big in a few areas.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - San Francisco 49ers

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

SAN FRANCISCO 49'ers - Passing 186 ypg     Rushing 138 ypg

You know what to expect when you see the 49ers play, a brand of power football that was carved out by former coach Mike Singletary and has been enhanced by Jim Harbaugh. They only sign big players that hit hard on both sides of the ball. This is truly a team with an old school mentality.  How does all of this help your Paper Pigskin team?

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - St. Louis Rams

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

ST. LOUIS - Passing 195 ypg     Rushing 110 ypg

This team was making strides offensively early last season, then an interesting happened, Sam Bradford got injured. After losing their starting quarterback, the team had to rely on their defense and special teams to stay competitive because not much was going right on offense.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - San Diego Chargers

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS – Passing 271 ypg     Rushing 123 ypg

The Chargers offense was balanced and highly efficient in 2013. Mike McCoy and Ken Whisenhunt tailored the scheme to their personnel and Phillip Rivers’s career was given new life.  This is both a quality and run-first offense; the team’s running game will be improved from last season with the acquisition of power runner Donald Brown. The threat of an effective running game always shrinks the defense, keeping them off-balanced.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Denver Broncos

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

DENVER BRONCOS – Passing 340 ypg   Rushing 117 ypg

The Broncos were all over network television last season exhibiting their spectacular offensive prowess. More importantly, the Broncos being on TV allowed viewers to watch Paper Pigskin points accumulate at a high rate.  Interesting enough the team led the league in lost fumbles last season, so there’s actually room for improvement on their scoring output.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Oakland Raiders

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

OAKLAND RAIDERS – Passing 209 ypg     Rushing 125 ypg

You think all types of bad things when it comes to the Raiders: bad stadium situation, bad performances, and bad luck. At least their fan base is bad ass though. GM Reggie McKenzie has worked tirelessly to change the culture by making personnel moves in efforts to alter the way the team is viewed. As far as the product on the field, the defense is coming along nicely but the offense is inconsistent and still all kinds of bad.  At least they’ve been able to run the ball well, which is always a solid foundation to build on.