The No Huddle Episode 12-04

Philly Dave brought his 12 years of fantasy football experience to this week’s show. We discussed when you should consider giving up on a star player and move on.

Forgot to stress this on the show: Colts and Steelers have a bye. The Colts have played better than expected, sporting a 1 and 2 record. The Steelers have been underwhelming, also at 1 and 2, though they still have the talent to come out of the bye week strong.

WR Hakeem Nicks is out. The last time Nicks was out, back-up Ramses Barden went off for 10 receptions and 162 yards. Obviously that makes him a good play Sunday night against the Eagles. WR Victor Cruz and TE Martellus Bennett should also see increased production, though in Cruz’s case that didn’t happen last time Hicks was out.

WR Pierre Garcon is likely to play today, but his role may be limited due to an injured foot.

WR Darrius Heyward-Bey is out. You could look to the Raiders’ other receivers but consistency hasn’t been hallmark in Oakland, so as well as they played against Pittsburgh, you might want to look elsewhere.

Both of the Patriots TEs are banged up. Ron Gronkowski with a hip injury, Henandez with an ankle injury. Does this mean trouble for Tom Brady, or simply more targets for Wes Welker? Hard to say, but Brady is too talented to let this affect his performance. The situation is more interesting considering recently signed TE Kellen Winslow asked for, and received, his release from the Patriots after only one week with the team.

Still anguishing? Here’s a handy tool: the NFL team stats page. Simply find the team your player is opposing in their category (rushing, passing) and see how that match-up looks against the other player you’re considering. Not foolproof to be sure, but an easy way to make an informed decision, especially if kickoff is fast approaching.

Don’t forget to double-check the official injury report at NFL.com 30 minutes prior to the start of the game your player is in.

Questions? Ask away with an email TheNoHuddle@gmail.com or tweet @TheNoHuddle.

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You can find the podcast at Podbean or in iTunes.

Our comedy podcast is available at Podbean as well, and in iTunes.

As always, good luck in your games!

The No Huddle Episode 12-03

Mark Chalifoux was our guest on this week’s show.  Mark seemed to be the person to talk to about a stat table from the ChicagoSun-Times showing the decline of running formations and the running game in general in the past few seasons. No link is available, so I scanned it in:

Fascinating stuff, especially if you’re a numbers person. Two out of three (2 out of 3) formations featured only one (1) RB. That’s incredible. Multiple TE formations remain, but that position continues to be on the upswing. WRs, of course, are the beneficiaries of these 1 RB formations so making them your flex player, if your league has that position, makes a lot of sense. This will be something to keep a close eye on as the season progresses.

In the course of trying to find that link, I came across a site called TeamRankings.com < http://www.teamrankings.com/> Very interesting if you like to crunch, nay obsess, over the numbers.

Some Week 3 Newas and Updates:

RB Steven Jackson is out. Rookie Darryl Richardson will start, and Isaiah Pead could also get some touches.

WR Pierre Garcon is out.

The Jets/Dolphins game is a match-up of the biggest collection of inconsistent players we’re likely to see this season. It could be feast, famine, or both, for either team. Both could solidify this Sunday, so keep an eye on this game. Speaking of that game, TE Dustin Keller is out.

If you have either Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, you may be monetarily tempted to look at other options. Brady comes off a tepid game against Arizona while Rodgers was underwhelming against the Bears last week. Brady faces an always tough Ravens defense in Baltimore. However the Ravens this season have actually been more of an offensive powerhouse, with the D ranked 27^th overall. As for Rodgers, he faces a Seahawk D ranked 6^th, and they are at home. They slapped down the Cowboys pretty good last week, but don’t let that give you pause. Start both of them. It’s Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.

Questions? Ask away: TheNoHuddle@gmail.com

Like us on Facebook follow us on twitter, @TheNoHuddle, as we will be tweeting a lot on Sunday. Email thenohuddle@gmail.com and bookmark the blog here, thenohuddle.blogspot.com.

You can find the podcast on Podbean or in iTunes.

As always, good luck in your games!

The No Huddle Episode 12-02

Paul Morrissey was our guest on this week’s show. As a Giants fan, Paul was somewhat impressed by the Cowboys’ performance in week one, however he is nowhere near sold on Tony Romo. Listen to the show for some hilarious insight.

We’re still at the point where your starters are your starters, barring injury of course. For week 2, if you do have a sit or start dilemma, go with the guy who has the better surrounding talent. This especially true of QBs and WRs. A RB can have a solid game no matter who hands him the ball, but once that ball is in the air you have to have some rapport.

It should also be noted that this post is going up early (Friday). Busy weekend ahead. Last night the Packers thumped the Bears. It was largely due to an incredible defensive performance by Green Bay, who sacked Bears QB Jay Cutler 7 times (!) and picked him off 4 times. The Packers’s D was likely inspired by Cutler’s comments earlier in the week, in which he dared the Green Bay D to get physical with the Bears’ WRs. Well done, Jay! Never underestimate so-called “bulletin board” comments.

Some news of note as you look at your match-ups.

RB Ryan Mathews has been practicing more, but at this point it is unclear as to whether or not he will start, or see any playing time this week. Ronnie Brown, his back-up, is an o.k. option.

RB Trent Richardson is mad, and wants to take it out on the Bengals. We’ll see. On the other side of the ball, the Browns could have a decent defensive game against the Bengals.

How about the Ravens offense? We all knew about Ray Rice and the receiving core looked good last year, but they seem to be playing at a higher level now, which also let’s their defense rest a bit.

Dolphins RB Daniel Thomas (no kin to original Dolphins investor, TV personality Danny Thomas) sat out practice Thursday. Speculation is we could see RB Lamar Miller Sunday. Check the injury report arouns 12:30 EDT Sunday. Reggie Bush should still get the bulk of the carries in either case.

Again, if you had a starter disappoint last year, and he doesn’t have a history of being “streaky,” stick with him. After this week, we should have a good idea of where NFL teams are as far as overall offense and defense, and that in turn will make it easier, or more anguishing, to compare match-ups.

 Questions? Ask away: TheNoHuddle@gmail.com

Like us on Facebook follow us on twitter, @TheNoHuddle, as we will be tweeting a lot on Sunday. Email thenohuddle@gmail.com and bookmark the blog here, thenohuddle.blogspot.com.

You can find the podcast on Podbean or in iTunes.

As always, good luck in your games!

The No Huddle Episode 12-01

Tim Harmsotn was our guest on this week’s show. He correctly predicted big things for TE Marcellus Bennett of the New York Giants who had 4 catches for 40 yards and a score.

As for the rest of the games, there are a lot of lopsided contests in week 1. However, your strategy for this week is pretty simple: start your starters. You drafted them in that order for a reason, right? If you have a situation where it’s a toss-up, go with the stronger match-up obviously. For example, Philadelphia at Cleveland, you would start all Eagles (plus the D/ST) and no Browns. I wouldn’t even start K Phil Dawson quite frankly. Trent Richardson at RB? He’s coming off an injury, and is playing against savage defense. If healthy he will get most of the touches, but if you have a better option use it.

Watch the Seattle at Arizona game closely. QB John Skelton is the Cardinal’s starter, but is owned by only 5% of teams in Yahoo! The talent around him could give him a lift, but the opposite is being forecast by the experts. Boomer Esiason during Wednesday night’s radio broadcast of the Giants/Cowboys game mentioned that WR Larry Fitzgerald’s numbers will suffer with Skelton at the helm. So, here’s another tip. Keep an eye on highly touted back-up Matt Flynn.

Pretty easy, for week 1. If you can, go to the NFL’s website around 12:30 EDT to see who is out for the 1:00 games, and again at 3:30 and 7:30. Some of you may have drafted a Ben Tate, or a Ronnie Brown (though he actually plays Monday night) and are waiting to see if starters Arian Foster or Ryan Mathews will play. At this point Mathews is out, but the NFL website is really the best resource for injury reports.

Questions? Ask away…

Like us on Facebook, follow us on twitter, @TheNoHuddle, as we will be tweeting a lot on Sunday. Email thenohuddle@gmail.com and bookmark the blog here, thenohuddle.blogspot.com.

You can find the podcast on Podbean or in iTunes.

As always, good luck in your games!