This is the time of year for a lot of fowl play.
It's the time of year turkeys are being put up everywhere outside of homes. The turkey-hunting season is winding down in Southwestern New York.
With Thanksgiving less than a week away now, it's a good time to be thankful for those things that have made this fantasy season and football season in general so interesting.
So there are a few things, people and teams I'd like to thank:
The quarterbacks
Thank you to all the quarterbacks this year. It's been odd, considering eight quarterbacks have outscored the top running back (Adrian Peterson) and 19 quarterbacks have outscored the top wide receiver (A.J. Green)! That's pretty cool, but what's interesting is of those 19, you don't see the typical names like Matt Schaub, Phillip Rivers and even Eli Manning in some leagues. Instead, you see new faces like RGIII, Andrew Luck, Carson Palmer, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco and Josh Freeman, in addition to the other studs. Who would have thought two rookie quarterbacks would outscore Arian Foster?
The trade deadline
Thank you, oh holy trade deadline. Not only do you encourage the scrubs of my league to scramble and make awful deals, but you have also helped me keep track of the date for all of November. Knowing Friday the 16th is the deadline, I can always know what day it is by counting backwards. It's sort of the Christmas of November.
The Bills
Thank you, Buffalo Bills, and especially those Buffalo Jills. I appreciate that you didn't do that thing this year where you start out looking decent. That usually just gives all my friends reason to talk about the Bills and the playoffs in the same sentence. Thanks to your abysmal effort and some injuries, no one will think you're going anywhere.
Tony Romo
Thanks, Tony. Thanks for nothing. All you are is a tease. You let America's team down again and tore my heart out every week. Couldn't you at least have the decency to not be such a tease? Instead, you always gave me hope but then you were sure to literally throw the game away.
It's always good to be thankful, but don't forget: after Thanksgiving (a day for being thankful that what you have is enough), we have Black Friday, a day to buy a bunch of new, on-sale stuff. Because obviously you weren't thankful enough, so you had to get more.
The same is true in fantasy. Be grateful your players have performed thus far, but as soon as you're done, go out and get some new players. The trade deadline is coming up soon for most leagues, so get to it.
Here are this week's picks, some guys I hope you'll be thankful for:
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (RB/CIN) - Confidence Rating: 8/13
Green-Ellis hasn't had any great games so far, but he's still the every-down back in Cincy. He plays against Kansas City this week, which is always a favorable matchup. Eighty yards and a score could be in his weekend plans.
Nick Foles (QB/PHI) - C.R.: 7/13
The Eagles have a lot of weapons for him to choose from. I know there are a couple good quarterbacks hurt out there, so pick up Foles if you need a replacement. Out of all the free agent quarterbacks, he has the best chance at finishing the season in a starting role.
Donald Jones (WR/BUF) - C.R.: 6ish/13
If you need a wide receiver this week, Donald Jones is an emerging guy in Buffalo. Bills coach Chan Gailey said Jones will be getting more looks and an increasing role. I know I said the Bills were bad, but somehow every week one of their offensive players does quite well.
Pittsburgh Receivers - C.R.: .01/11
Steelers quarterback Big Ben has been ruled out this week. His replacement, Byron Leftwich, hasn't started a game since 2009 and has only 14 pass attempts in that time. Another interesting fact, according to ESPN: the Steelers have played the Ravens with a back up QB four times since 2005. They didn't win a single one. Hmm.
Bye week teams: Seahawks, Titans, Giants, Vikings
Eliminator/Survival pick: Baltimore Over Pittsburgh
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
