This weekend's matchups:
The Fat Alberts (Lanky Livingston) vs. Shanahanigans (Misterpinstripe)
Key matchups:
Greg Jennings vs. the Bears' Pass D: The Bears defense looks fresh and rejuvenated...against the run. The Bears' pass-D is ranked 27th in the league. With Ryan Grant on IR, and hence no big-name to run the ball, the Packers will look to Aaron Rodgers to generate offense. Jennings is one of Rodgers' favorite targets, but hasn't been finding the end zone as regularly as the Alberts would like. Will the trend reverse this weekend? The contest may depend on it.
Tom Brady vs. the Bills' Pass D: So let's recap: Tom "Justin" Biberady has millions of dollars in the bank, will make millions more in his lifetime, is married to one of the hottest women on the planet, and is facing the Bills this weekend. That asshole. The Bills simply don't have the personnel to match-up with both Randy Moss and Wes Welker, and the Pats should move the ball easily. And after an embarrassing loss to a division rival last week, Brady should be looking to rebound with a dominating performance.
Yahoo Projected Score:
The Fat Alberts 103.19 - Shanahanigans 102.63
Lanky's "Expert" Prediction:
Shanahanigans over The Fat Alberts
In the highest scoring affair of the week, Greg Jennings and Matt Forte make it exciting at the end but fall just short Monday night, and the Shanahanigans hold on to win. Teen heartthrob Tom Brady drops 40 and AP shreds the Lions to lead the way.
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Om Buds Man (Om) vs. Chester Shooters (Goaldeje)
Key matchups:
Chris Johnson vs. the Giants' run D: Chris Johnson had one of if not the worst performance of his career against the Steelers, and will be amped to get back to his 'A' game. At 24th in the league, the Giants have not done much to slow down the run. CJ should have a big day against the GMen on the ground.
Miles Austin vs. the Texans' pass D: With Favre playing like gavreage, and tough matchups for the rest of his squad, the Shooters only hope may lie in Austin against the Texans. The good news: the Cowboys can't run the ball this year, so Miles will get a lot of looks Sunday. The better news: The Texans can't stop the pass, as evidenced by 89 year-old Joey Galloway *almost* going for over a 100 and a score against them. The best news: The Cowboys are in a must-win scenario this weekend.
Yahoo Projected Score:
Om Buds Man 107.97 - Chester Shooters 100.28
Lanky's "Expert" Prediction:
Om Buds Man over Chester Shooters
Despite Austin's career day against the Texans, OBD tops the Shooters on the back of a strong performance from Chris Johnson. Witten finds the endzone for the first time this season, Megatron scores on the Vikes, and the Packers take a couple Cutler INTs to the house to help Om win.
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newb-annihilation (Boone) vs. LSF (Loyal Skins Fan)
Key matchups:
Santana Moss vs. the Rams' pass D: The ground game finally gets going for the Skins this weekend, opening up the passing game even more, and keeping the Rams D honest. Through 2 games, Moss has been used mostly as a possession receiver - will this trend continue, or will Moss be sent deep? McNabb to Moss seem to have some nice chemistry - the newbs success this week may depend on whether or not they take the next step in their relationship (no Romo).
Clinton Portis vs. the Rams run D: CP found pay dirt twice against the Texans from close-range, but couldn't do much else. Portis has some nice history against the Rams, averaging 94.5 yards and a score per game. Look for CP to come close to that yardage, and add a couple TDs.
Yahoo Projected Score:
newb-annihilation 94.61 - LSF 93.31
Lanky's "Expert" Prediction:
newb-annihilation over LSF
Aaron Rodgers has his best game yet vs. the Bears, Gates continues his strong start, and Baltimore's D shuts out the Browns to lead the annihilators past LSF.
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Absurd Philosophy (Sisyphus) vs. WheresRickySanders? (honorary_hog)
Key matchups:
Ray Rice vs. the Browns' D: Ray Ray Jr. has had a very slow start to the season thus far, and now faces the Cleveland Browns. If there was ever a week to get back in the groove, its playing the Browns and their 25th ranked rush D. The Browns are not terrible against the pass, meaning Rice should get a lot of looks on screens and dump offs, with the Ravens' other receivers covered downfield.
Darren McFadden vs. the Cards' run D: This is the week McFadden goes back to being a bust, right? Right? McFadden had a ton of talent at Arkansas, and for some reason that talent has not translated into the NFL....yet. He's on the Raiders, for one thing, which doesn't help ANYONE'S career. Could this be the year McFadden's skill set finally shows up in Oakland with him?
Yahoo Projected Score:
Absurd Philosophy 94.2 - WheresRickySanders? 99.58
Lanky's "Expert" Prediction:
WheresRickySanders? over Absurd Philosophy
With tough matchups across the board, and Ryan Mathews not expected to play against Seattle, AP gets blown out by the hog. We all eventually forgive him for riding Romo's coattails to victory, as he puts up a ton of yards and TDs through the air. Gore runs all over the Chiefs and delays his knee injury one more game, Ronnie Brown has his way with the Jets in the wildcat, and McFadden continues his resurgence against the Cardinals (did that read as weird to everyone as it was for me to type it?).
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beamish vs. dwarves of Moria
Key matchups:
Maurice Jones-Drew vs. the Eagles' run D: MJD's slow start has many a fantasy owner cursing life, football and the Jaguar's offense. After Jahvid Best made a travishamockery of the Eagles' run D, MJD should do similar things. He won't put up 43 points, but just how many he does will be key for beams.
Larry Fitzgerald vs. the Raiders' pass D: Larry has had a slow start, mostly due to the fact that his future Hall of Fame QB has been replaced by future car salesman Derek Anderson. Oh, that and they haven't really had a running game. Enter Beanie Wells, who is slated to start this weekend. Larry will still draw the pretty damn good Nnamdi Alotsofconsonants, but much like Andre Johnson in Houston, there aren't many guys who can cover Fitz.
Yahoo Projected Score:
beamish 96.04 - dwarves of Moria 86.12
Lanky's "Expert" Prediction:
beamish over dwarves of Moria
beamish crawls out of the ranks of winless teams with a convincing victory over the dwarves this week. MJD finally shows why he was the 3rd overall pick in most formats, Randy Moss hauls in a lot of catches against the Bills, and LeSean McCoy has another big day against Jacksonville. Now if we could only get someone to manage this team...
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Disclaimer: Lanky's "Expert" predictions are for entertainment only. If you bet based on anything you read in this post, you're on your own!
