Morning Docket: 11.02.06
* Possible settlement in the Ohio voter ID case. [Dispatch]
* "'Not cool' is not a legal argument." [WSJ Law Blog]
* Close polling in some marriage ballot measures. [Wash Times via How Appealing]
* "U.S. privacy protections rank among the worst in the democratic world, a London-based privacy organization said Wednesday." [MSNBC]
* Ann Coulter is accused of voter fraud, in violation of both Florida law and the Code of Irony. [CNN]
Fantasy football tips, after the jump.
If you're trying to get through a bye week or two, try some of the following plug-ins (or perhaps pick-ups, depending on the size of your league) with favorable Week 9 matchups:
Damon Huard (last chance!), Tony Romo (love to TO owners), Owen Daniels (although don't expect last week's explosiveness), Leon Washington (will get better), Mike Bell (more touches expected), and Travis Henry (good matchup). If Wali Lundy is still available in your league, get him. This week looks decent for Garrard and Losman, too. If you're just looking to flip a coin this week or next, err on the side of starting players whose teams are up against weak defenses such as SF, Tenn, Indy (especially RBs), Jets (ditto), Cleveland, Oakland, Houston, and GB. SD, Chicago, Baltimore, Pitt, and Jax, on the flip side, are generally tough matchups.
Some winners of RB battles are emerging, at least for now: Taylor appears to be edging out Jones-Drew, Addai over Rhodes, Maroney over Dillon, Lundy over Gado, Green over others in GB, Mike over Tatum, and Deuce over Reggie.
Comments
Leon Washington is on a bye this week, so that doesn't really qualify as a favorable matchup.
You also claim that Travis Henry has a good matchup at the same time that you claim that Jacksonville is a "generally tough matchup".
Not cool.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 2, 2006 02:19 PM
Fair points, 2:19. When I said "week or two" I was also giving a heads-up for next week, since I won't be posting the MD that week (we alternate weeks). Next week Leon is up against a tough NE rush defense, but the Jets have two weeks to prepare and look like they are comfortable with getting LW 20+ touches when the passing game is working (NE allows 236.7 pass yards a game). But it's true that having him on your roster will pay off more later in the schedule (Hous, GB, Miami, Oak) than it will in the immediate future (hence "will get better").
As for Travis Henry, while Jax is generally a tough defense, they have been allowing 96.7 yards per week on the ground (including giving up 93 to Wali Lundy, 101 to LW, and 112 to Portis), and TH has shown the ability to be explosive this year, such as by racking up 123 yards against Indy and 178 against Washington (Wash allows 111 on average).
Whether to play these guys or not is of course at your discretion, and in smaller leagues you may never need them. I would suggest, however, that they would not be bad plug-ins this week (TH) or pick-ups for down the road (LW). A good link for more info is Yahoo's rankings at http://fantasysports.yahoo.com/analysis/news?slug=ch-rotowski_110106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns&league=fantasy/nfl.
Posted by: B Clerker | November 2, 2006 03:11 PM
Jones Drew or Jamal Lewis for my #2 RB. who should I start?
Posted by: Percuriam | November 2, 2006 06:15 PM
Great question because there's no easy answer. Cincy (JL's opponent this week) allows 129.3 rush yards and 1 rushing TD a game, while Tenn (MJD's opponent) allows a shocking 162.1 and 1.4 TDs. Of course that doesn't answer the question as it would appear to because Jones-Drew splits carries, while Lewis generally does not. That said, I think the good money is on Lewis. With Coach Billick calling the plays now, expect more performances like last week (i.e., giving Jamal 31 carries!) to get him above the 100 mark and quite possibly a score. In Tennessee, Jones-Drew will probably get only occasional duties behind Fred Taylor, and with the emergence of QB Garrard (2 rushing TDs in 5 starts last year), who rushes more than Leftwich, there might be another peck at MJD's value. Good luck!
Posted by: B Clerker | November 2, 2006 09:50 PM