Game of the Week

Week One Previews-Tex/Cali
With week one approaching I have to say I am surprised at the lack of activity on the boards, trade chatter, etc. This is my nightmare, with fantasy indifference at an all time low it feels like the league is going to fall apart at the seems. We have four people who don’t have profile pictures, actually six but I know they have had them in the past.

The Game Lines offer some interesting views as all but home team is favored to win this week and that would be the silent Team Hughes. Team owner, Tucker had this to say when asked about his game this week, “ .”

Very insightful breakdown Tucker! Since Tucker won’t talk or appear to have any fun this year I will make his game “The Game of the Week.”


Game of the Week
Fly Heavy Hangers

Team Hughes


The most excited part of this week will be the return of Josh Cribbs-an all-everything player for the downtrodden Cleveland Browns. They have a new quarterback but they have the same coach and the same shitty players but Cribbs finally got paid. In May, Cribbs signed a 3-year $20M extension. Josh Cribbs won't cover kicks and punts this year for the first time in his five-year career. The Browns really do appear serious about using Cribbs more as a pure wide receiver. However, he won't get enough targets there to warrant fantasy consideration in normal leagues, even with those extra Wildcat packages. Cribbs remains a real asset solely in return-yardage leagues, where he remains the primary kick and punt returner. Fortunately for our league, kick returners and punt returners can have big weeks. Trey did his homework over the summer and felt Cribbs was worth a 3rd round selection, after choosing Matt Schaub and Stephen Jackson with his first two picks. Not only was Cribbs a 3rd round selection he was the 3rd WR taken off the board.

Match-ups to Watch
Matt Schaub vs. Tony Romo
Both QB’s are ranked high on the ESPN 200 list year and both are poised to have big years. Schaub through the most passes of any QB last year and Romo has a new toy to play with in Dez Bryant. Unfortunately for Romo, Roy Williams still sucks and the offensive line finally got dinged up in preseason, a luxury the Cowboys don’t have. I wonder if Jason Garrett will finally realized he has three RB’s who could start on almost every team in the NFL. Will Garrett throw more than he passes for this year or will Romo be forced to throw it on every 3rd and 1 from the shotgun? If Garrett does not change his stripes I look for Romo to have a monster season but another Divisional Playoff exit.

I think Romo has a bigger day than Schaub on Sunday, but who will Romo throw the TD’s to, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, or Jason Witten. Hopefully for Trey, they all go to Dez Bryant.

Vince Young vs. Brett Farve
I can’t believe this is really a match-up but it is as Vince Young as finally started showing why the Titans drafted him in the first place. Young relies on CJ2K5 for his stats and the bootleg package will be important for Young to have success throwing on the run and getting out into the open field. I think Nnamdi Asomugha neutralizes Tennessee’s #1WR on Sunday but Vince is good for 200 yards of passing, a rushing TD, a passing TD and one turnover. A soolid play for Week 1, but I am cautiously optimistic Brett Farve might get the best of him. Brett Farve has one thing on his mind-Revenge! Farve has ended the past three seasons with interceptions and has failed to take his team to the promise land. I temper expectations on Farve this season as he is clearly setting him self up as the underdog. I don’t think the Saints will be able to neutralize the running attack of the Vikings which will bring Farve into play. The only problem with that is Farve is a turnover machine and he has lost a lot of his favorite targets, whether its Sidney Rice waiting to get surgery or Percy Harvin getting smacked into space, it may be hard to be in rhythm with so much chaos going on in the Vikings locker room. We will know on Thursday how good Farve will be this year as they set the stage in a rematch with the Saints.

LeSean McCoy/Stephen Jackson vs. Rookies Ryan Matthews and Jahvid Best
In what could be the downfall of Team Hughes this year is the RB situation will be displayed proudly in Week 1. Normally, I say drafted a rookie RB is not that bad if you take one but two could end up being a mistake. Rule 1: Opportunity + Need usually yield success for rookies in Fantasy Football. We saw it in Matt Forte and Chris Johnson two years ago as both teams had great offensive lines and relied on the running game. This year the Chargers are in flux on the offensive line and have a QB and a coach that love to throw the football. I think Matthews is going to be a good player but the hype is way too large for his shoulders. I think teams will force Matthews to beat them and attack Dip Shit Rivers which could result in a lot of slip screens to our favorite fantasy back-Darrin Sproles. With multiple holdouts looming over the Chargers locker room I temper expectations for their season. I don’t think they are the team to beat but that doesn’t matter in fantasy football. Rule 2: Don’t ever draft Lions players no matter how good you think they are. While I think the Lions win more football this year, I don’t think it will be pretty. Jahvid Best is a good player but he probably won’t pan out this year. He has a history of concussions and gets injured a lot. The Lions are insistent on keeping Stafford protected and while he has a lot of tools around him the offensive line is still weak.

I like the LeSean McCoy match-up because he will be touching the ball a lot and they probably won’t be stretching the field as much with Kolb at the helm. One thing McNabb did really well was throw the deep ball. Kolb’s strengths are in the middle of the field with quick releases. LeSean will be a big part of that and I think he will have a big day.

With the announcement of Sam Bradford as QB and the plethora of injuries to the WR core, Stephen Jackson will be counted on in a huge way, as always. I do think he has big week but not a big season. It will be tough for him as he has lost more explosion with all the hits he has taken and he has an offensive line that is constantly changing. I think the pieces are their but they are three years away from doing anything in the league. Still, he is a solid play this week.

I think Tucker wins the QB Battle but loses the RB Battle. This one will come down to the WR’s and the Defenses which are slanted in Tuckers direction. With that I still believe in the Heavy Hangers. The Home Team loses and Tucker keeps his silence.