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Wild Card Weekend Game Recaps
Remember the 2016 playoffs? That strange stretch of time last year where people said things like "you don't need a quarterback" and "an elite defense will get you there if you have even a decent RB?" It seems like so long ago, especially after 2017's wild card weekend. Look at the quarterbacks who advanced. Aaron […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoNFL Recap - Week 15 Surprises, And Looking Ahead
Happy holidays to all of our readers! And that greeting is not only extended from us here, but also from all the players in the NFL, who caught the holiday spirit just in time this year. And what better way to celebrate than to look at some of the best gifts the NFL gave to […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoNFL Recap - Week 14 Surprises, And Looking Ahead
The NFL seems to have saved its best product for the home stretch - Week 14 provided surprises, shakeups and scintillating individual performances. With five teams in each conference contending for wild card berths, we can look forward to more high-stakes games in the coming weeks, but for now let's take a look at what […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoNFL Recap - Week 13 Surprises, And Looking Ahead
With Week 13 behind us, every NFL team has now played 12 games, and the season is officially 75% over. We're officially in the stretch run, and many divisions are up for grabs. That being said, not every contest is created equal, and while there will be significant football played in December and January, some […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoNFL Recap - Week 12 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
Thanksgiving has come and gone. We have delighted to see the family members we haven't spoken to in months and then remembered over dinner why we haven't spoken to them, as soon as they asked "how about that election, huh?" Cookbooks were dusted off and panicked last-minute grocery store runs were made. Stoves, ovens, grills, and […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoNFL Recap - Week 11 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
The NFL has long prided itself on the parity of its league - how any team is no more than a few moves away from a Super Bowl championship. And that parity has never been more obvious than it is this year. Eighteen teams are sitting at .500 or within one game of that mark, and […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 10 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
This week in football feels really weird, doesn't it? It's just sort of a sidebar on one of the most utterly insane weeks in American politics. With all the hoopla leading up to November 8 and the shocking result, it just seems like this weekend was more about recovering from the "historic election" we just endured. […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Midseason Report & Awards
Welcome to the midseason edition of our weekly recap! Through 8 or 9 games, the NFL has brought commercials, jubilation, commercials, exciting rookies, commercials, penalty flags, commercials, commercials, and the depths of despair and defeat to audiences all over the country, but today it's time to celebrate the individual players who have turned in significant […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 8 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
As flawed as the NFL may be, you can't say they aren't good at getting into the holiday spirit. Thanksgiving games are a beloved yearly tradition. They've managed not to force 80% of the league to play on Christmas so the players can spend time with their families. They celebrate Labor Day by making us […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 7 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
I feel like we as a country needed this week to happen, you know? To fall back into the comforting routine of Roger Goodell's catching heat for his complete, almost sociopathic lack of regard for the health or happiness of women. I'm not saying he's secretly a sci-fi version of Donald Trump who's discovered a […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 5 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
Listen, man, I'm just straight-up done. I am one hundred percent over this, and after this most recent presidential debate, I was inspired to say something. Not about the election - God no, that debate was a hot mess. But it did make me feel like yelling incoherently for theatrical effect at something that made […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 4 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
To be honest, I'm not really sure what happened this weekend. Watching the games this week, I gave it 50-50 odds I somehow drove through some sort of weird sci-fi dimensional portal when I wasn't looking and ended up on Htrae or something and I just can't cope right now. The Rams are winning the NFC […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 3 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
In the interest of full disclosure: I was at a music festival this weekend, so now I'm about 80% certain that I have every conceivable form of lung disease. You would not believe the things people were throwing on those bonfires. I mean, I saw people throwing in used napkins, lighters, plastic water bottles, styrofoam, you […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMonday Morning NFL Recap - Week 2 Surprises, Busts & Laughers
Welcome to the second installment of my Monday morning NFL recap, the column I like to consider "speedballing for your fantasy team." We'll bring you up with stars (Stefon Diggs! I played against him!), and bring you crashing right back down to the ground with busts (Antonio Brown! I started him!) So make sure all […]
Adam Sabol 8 years agoMy Top 10 Potential Busts for Week 5
Welcome back to the Top 10 Busts of the Week column, where I tell you why the early round draft-pick you made is going to stink. It's OK. It happens to everyone. I'm here for you if you drafted C.J. Anderson. If you want to cry, you can. Nothing to be ashamed of. Top […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoAndy Dalton (QB, CIN) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
He wasn't drafted high, but he's found his way into starting lineups on the backs of the Bengals' strong start. With the emergence of Tyler Eifert and the resurgence of Gio Bernard, Dalton has many fantasy owners believing in him and this high-flying Bengals offense. Pity them, for they know not the pain of "Big […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoJoseph Randle (RB, DAL) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
Can you just imagine what it's like being Bill Belichick right now, game planning against the Cowboys? He could've had to worry about Tony Romo and Dez Bryant, but instead he has Brandon Weeden and... well let's be honest, the receivers don't matter: it's Brandon Weedon. He throws a jillion (scientific term) picks and I'm […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoJeremy Hill (RB, CIN) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
Hill scored three touchdowns in the Bengals' game against the Chiefs. That's what I get for trusting Andy Dalton to throw touchdowns. However, this week's opponent is much more stout defensively - the Seahawks haven't allowed a rushing touchdown at all this season. For an RB who has been useless - and that's a charitable […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoJimmy Graham (TE, SEA) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
Well, it turns out taking an elite receiving tight end and stranding him in a power-running WR wasteland is just disappointing for everyone involved. Graham has scored in two games this season, but in the other two games, he's scored less than three. He put up only 29 yards receiving against Detroit, and 11 against the […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoCarlos Hyde (RB, SF) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
This makes me sad. I like Hyde a lot. However, his 30-point breakout game in Week 1 looks increasingly like an aberration after the last three weeks, in which the 49ers reminded everyone that Jim Harbaugh might have hypothetically maybe been more responsible for their recent success than they'd like. This goes double for Colin […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoLatavius Murray (RB, OAK) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
I actually really have nothing mean to say about Latavius Murray. The Raiders have been a pleasant surprise for fantasy investors, and Murray has played well. This is just a poor matchup with the Broncos. Denver is allowing the eighth fewest rushing yards per game so far this year, although they have allowed four rushing […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoCalvin Johnson (WR, DET) - Week 5 Lineup Busts?
Poor Calvin Johnson. Has there ever been a player as dominant whose career was wasted by incompetence quite like his? If you say LaDainian Tomlinson, I have two counterpoints. 1: the Chargers never went winless, and 2: screw you, dude, Norv Turner still hurts my heart. Anyway, Johnson was a force of nature as recently […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoC.J. Anderson (RB, DEN) - Week 5 Lineup Busts
Oh, C.J., how did I forget about you last week? You were almost certainly someone's RB1, and yet it's entirely possible that Carlos Hyde outscored you in Week 1. Not for that week - for the whole season. I'm not entirely sure that's true, but if someone off the street asked me "Hey, has C.J. even […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoMy Top 10 Potential Busts for Week 4
Listen, not every column can be sunshine and rainbows. We can tell you all about how Julio Jones will score 30 points because he's Julio Jones and of course he will. Sometimes, you just have to face the grim reality that the players you drafted aren't as good as you thought they'd be (for me, […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoAndrew Luck (QB, IND) - Week 4 Lineup Busts?
I thought I was getting out of here without one more crack at my oh so disappointing lineup, didn't I? Oh no, me, I don't get off that easy! That was very confusing. I apologize. Anyways, Luck shows up on this list because the Colts have been exceedingly lackluster this season - and while it's always […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoAlfred Morris (RB, WAS) - Week 4 Lineup Busts
There was really a guy in my league who drafted Doug Martin and Alfred Morris this season. I was legitimately worried he'd suffered a head trauma and thought it was 2012 again. Like, I wanted to ask him if he was voting for Obama or Romney. I was 95% sure "Call Me Maybe" was playing […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoMelvin Gordon (RB, SD) - Week 4 Lineup Busts
He's losing goal line touches to Danny Woodhead. DANNY WOODHEAD. Danny Woodhead is the exact antithesis of a "goal-line threat" RB. Typically those RBs are like 6 foot, 250 pounds and score by leaning forward and trusting gravity. Danny Woodhead is not 6 foot, 250. Danny Woodhead is closer to 5 foot, 150. Danny Woodhead […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoPeyton Manning (QB, DEN) - Week 4 Lineup Busts
Surprise! There's a QB who's been even bustier than Andrew Luck this season - I just now realized that was a terrible way to phrase that and good luck getting THAT mental image out of your head. Peyton "Fivehead" Manning and Andrew "Secretly a Cave Troll" Luck in a wet T-shirt contest. Ugh. Uuuuuuuuuuuggggggghhhhhhh. Turns out […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoDoug Martin (RB, TB) - Week 4 Lineup Busts
Remember when Doug Martin blew up on the Raiders in 2012? Remember how he hasn't done anything even remotely resembling the same sort of thing since then? If you own Martin, the chances you answered "yes" to question A are pretty high. The chances you answered "yes" to question B are probably pretty slim, though. […]
Adam Sabol 9 years agoAllen Robinson (WR, JAX) - Week 4 Lineup Busts
Yeah, Robinson was a trendy sleeper pick this season, and he certainly showed up in Week 2, but his Week 3 left a lot to be desired - and the Patriots don't have Vontae Davis like the Colts do. With one of the league's premier shutdown corners covering him, and the Immortal Blake Bortles (which […]
Adam Sabol 9 years ago