ESPN The TRUM Blog

Posted by Matthew Berry, ESPN.com

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings for Friday, April 3, 2009

So in between fantasy darlings Grady Sizemore and Matt Holliday swinging bats, just after the great Buster Olney says his Clio Award-worthy line "This is Buster" and before we get to the much-more-attractive-than-me Alyssa Milano, there is a one-second shot of me in the latest ESPN.com fantasy baseball commercial.

Incidentally, I'm excited about being in a commercial with Alyssa Milano. Alyssa was in "Hugo Pool" with Sean Penn and Robert Downey Jr., which means, playing the Kevin Bacon game, you can connect me to pretty much anyone. Like Sir Laurence Olivier!

(Let's see, so I was in the commercial with Alyssa (1), Alyssa was in "Hugo Pool" with Sean Penn (2), Sean Penn was in "Mystic River" with Kevin Bacon (3), Bacon was in "Frost/Nixon" with Frank Langella (4) and Langella was in "Dracula" with Olivier (5). Not bad, and I even used Bacon. So cool.)

Anyway, "Mr. Roto's Mailbag" is the theme of my one second of fame, and it has been way too long since I've done one. That's changing right now as I dig through lots of e-mails that have collected over the past month. Here we go:

Jon (St. Cloud, Minn.): "The words were barely out of your mouth, lecturing us to always watch WHIP and ERA, not to draft any pitcher with a bad WHIP and ERA regardless of wins and losses and saves … when you put up the graphic of Jonathan Papelbon, telling us to ignore his 0.95 WHIP and a 2.34 ERA, and instead draft the guy with a 1.50 WHIP and a 4.50 ERA. Which is it, genius????? Do you just talk for the sake of talking, or do you actually think about this double-talk bull, contradicting yourself before you spew it?????"

TMR: I think you mean genius sarcastically, but since you are using five question marks, you must clearly be wondering. You must be talking about the "blind résumé" that I did on the Baseball Tonight fantasy baseball draft special, in which I pointed out that Brian Wilson and Jonathan Papelbon had the same number of saves last year. I don't think I'm the only guy saying not to draft bad ERA and WHIP; that should pretty much be a given, right? The greater point is that you shouldn't "pay for saves." Papelbon is currently being drafted, on average, almost 130 picks ahead of Brian Wilson. The point is not specifically about those two players, but the theory itself. Obviously, Paps will have better ERA and WHIP numbers. But he'll also pitch only 70 innings. Considering your team likely will finish with somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 innings (depending on strategy, league rules, etc.), the difference between Papelbon and Wilson's ERA and WHIP is nothing considering the difference in value between wasting a 5th-round pick on a closer rather than a 17th-round pick on saves. But thanks for watching ESPN!

Jimmy (Saskatoon): "I think many of us could use some clarification on Pablo Sandoval? Everyone is predicting this guy will break out, and they point to his catcher eligibility as the source of his value. But will he get catcher eligibility? He is listed only as a first baseman right now, and I can't find anywhere that says the Giants expect him to play 10 games at catcher quick enough to qualify him in time to be helpful. Any thoughts? Go Norsemen."

TMR: Go Norsemen indeed. They love me in Saskatoon. Anyway, the short answer is, barring injury, I don't think Sandoval gets 10 games at catcher this year. Bengie Molina played 145 games last year and is pretty durable, and Steve Holm is backing up "my favorite Molina."

John (NYC): "Matthew, what are the chances that your [recommendations] this spring to get 'Sexei Alexei' [work out like they did] this past fall with Joseph Addai? I'm going to say pretty good, because like with Addai, I drafted 'The Sexei' every chance I got. The real question is, who will be this baseball season's Frank Gore? I think you know what I'm talking about."

Sign up today for the most customizable free fantasy baseball game out there. You set the rules, scoring, everything. Sign up today!

TMR: I hope not on Alexei, but I understand your point. Everything that went right for Addai in '07 went wrong for him in '08. Injuries on the offensive line, injuries to Addai himself, struggles from the Colts' offense in general and so on. Could Ramirez not run as much? He stole 13 bases but was also caught nine times last year. Could they give him a red light if his success rate doesn't get better? He has a terrible strikeout-to-walk rate, and maybe he isn't the Alfonso Soriano exception to the rule that we all think he'll be. But from talking with scouts and from what I've seen, I believe he's something special. We'll see. As for Gore, I kept saying last year that he would provide second-round value from a first-round draft spot. He ended up as the 14th-best fantasy running back last year, so he was actually worse than a second-round overall pick and was merely a second-round running back pick. So who is a guy going in the first round who will be solid (not a bust) but won't deliver first-round production? I'll say Mark Teixeira. The past three years, he has basically been a 30-homer, 100-RBI guy. Maybe a few more ribbies this year with the Yanks, but I still think he's a .300-30-100 player. That's solid, but considering he doesn't steal bases, that first base is pretty deep and that Alex Rodriguez could miss up to two months, I don't see him ending up in the top 10 in ESPN's Player Rater for 2009. Incidentally, he finished 22nd in the Player Rater in 2008, making him a high third-rounder.

Owen (NYC): "Only three teams in baseball scored more runs last year than the Minnesota Twins, yet only two stadiums yielded fewer runs per game last year than the Metrodome. Interesting pair of statistics. Play your Twins hitters on the road?"

TMR: No, what it means to me is that you start your Twins pitchers at home. Always. All of them.

Bart (Toronto): "I hope you got Scott Downs in the reserve picks after you spent that much on B.J. Ryan [in your Tout Wars auction]. As a Blue Jays fan, I'm not liking B.J.'s (or the Blue Jays') chances this year. By the way, I like your work. I find it entertaining, as well as informative, I don't take your word as gold (you guys do tell us to have our own opinions), but I agree with much of your analysis. And I love the Francisco Liriano buy. I think he's worth $20 in mixed leagues [much less an AL league], but that's me."

TMR: I'm not worried about Ryan's decreased velocity this spring. From what I understand, he's working out some mechanical issues, and that's the reason. I've seen his stock decrease dramatically as a result, but I expect him to be fine. And no, I didn't get Downs. I wanted him, but he went for more than I wanted to pay. I agree, though, that Downs is the handcuff you want.

Ed (Raleigh, N.C.): "It's about 9:45 pm ET, and I see that you're pulling away from Sports Guy for the 'PodBlockers' championship. Well done, sir. I trust you'll be posting a photo of Fu Manchu Bill Simmons for the viewing pleasure of your loyal [fans] in short order."

TMR: We discuss Bill's impending facial hair on the most recent B.S. Report Check it out.

Tim (Boston): "Just had to give credit where credit is due. Me and my friends started playing fantasy basketball for the first time this year, and while I watch a decent number of NBA games, I had no idea which direction to turn when drafting a fantasy team. After reading your draft-day strategy of concentrating on point guards and power forwards, I decided that I would do my best to follow that advice and see how things ended up. Now, I will say, there were many trades during the season, including me turning Dwyane Wade and All Iverson into Dwight Howard and Brandon Roy, and then turning Howard into Lebron. But your advice led me to jump on guys such as Rajon Rondo and Antawn Jamison, and I ended up toppling the No. 1 seed and winning the whole league. Just want to throw some kudos your way. You hear it a lot when you lead people down the wrong path, so here's a TMR-influenced success story!"

TMR: Thanks, and congrats! You did it, not me, but glad to hear. You know, it's always great to get a note when I've helped someone out. Like Tom here:

Where should they go?
Check out a new tool from ESPN Insider: the Draft Analyzer. With it, you can figure out where a player should go in your fantasy MLB draft, relative to value. Draft Analyzer

Tom (Boston): Why would anyone want fantasy advice from Matthew Berry? This is the same guy who, after Randy Moss caught three touchdown passes against the Jets in Week 1 of the 2007 NFL season, went on SportsCenter and told everyone to trade Moss immediately. Moss only went on to set the NFL record for touchdowns in a season by a wide receiver! Is it even possible to make a bigger mistake than that in the world of fantasy sports? Why does Matthew Berry even have a job? What a fraud. Actually, it does kind of help me out. Whatever Matthew Berry advises, I do the complete opposite, and it never fails. I dominate my baseball and football leagues. So I was able to have a great draft after watching ESPN's fantasy baseball draft special by going against Berry at every turn. Thanks a lot."

TMR: Glad to hear the baseball draft special helped!

Jeff (Pittsburgh): "I am in a 12-team Roto keeper league. For our keepers, we get to keep them in the round we drafted them the previous year. With this in mind, would you draft A-Rod as high as the fourth round, thinking of next year and getting a potential MVP in the fourth round?"

TMR: Yeah, I have no problem with that. I've said he should be going in the fifth round in ESPN standard leagues, so the fourth round makes total sense for a keeper league. I'd pay up to $30 for him in a keeper auction league, but you should be able to get him for $20 to $25. All that said, I'm not touching him this year in non-keeper leagues. Way too many question marks for someone you'd have to use a high draft pick on.

Jeff (Palo Alto, Calif.): "Regarding your 50 facts and 25 things column, No. 3 compares Evan Longoria to Aramis Ramirez, and it sounds like you're suggesting that if you're considering Longoria [the higher draft pick], wait and take Ramirez instead. No. 62 compares Ramirez to Adrian Beltre, with what sounds like a similar suggestion. My question is this: By extension, does that mean that if I'm considering taking Longoria, I should just wait a few rounds and take Beltre instead? Some of the numbers you put up for Beltre look awfully similar to Longoria's full-season-projected numbers from last year."

TMR: Depends on who else you have the option to grab. I was using stats in both cases to illustrate that I think Longoria is a bit overvalued this year and that both Aramis and Beltre are undervalued. It's a contract year for Beltre, which is nice, but Ramirez is going to hit at least 20 points higher and that is significant over 500-plus at bats. Their power numbers are closer than folks realize, which was the primary point, but yeah, we play with numbers, not names. Make sure you pay attention to the numbers.

Speros Zanetos (Clearwater, Fla.): "Mr. Berry, we recently had our fantasy draft on [a competitor's site], and if you had a moment, could you go to the league and provide us with a power ranking of who has the strongest team to the weakest. We would greatly appreciate your opinion. Here is the link to our site …"

TMR: Yeah, I'm gonna get right on that.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- hopes Megan Joy uses her free time from no longer being on "American Idol" to remove that ugly tattoo. He is a five-time award winner from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, including a Writer of the Year award. He is also the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings from Week 17 games

I get a lot of questions about the name of this blog. TRUM, in case you skipped the lead-in above, stands for "thoughts, ramblings, useless information and musings," and that description has probably never been more accurate than today, with a perfectly nutty Week 17 finishing off an insane year.

So here are a bunch of random thoughts as I watched today's games and, as a treat to you readers, I'll finish with what I believe is the first set of fantasy football rankings for next year.

So let's go back to one of my favorite catchphrases with a little …

Just Saying …

… That Week 17 tends to be like a high school reunion. Or being on Facebook. There are a lot of old, familiar names you haven't thought about in years. Oh wow, you think, Michael Clayton is still alive?! He had 87 yards receiving, and I'm as surprised as you to report it was not in an Arena Football League (RIP) game.

Also, DeShawn Wynn, who was a trendy pickup for one week last season, had 122 total yards and a score for the Packers. Thanks to Pierre Thomas being scratched, Deuce McAllister had one last day of fantasy relevance, with 81 total yards. There was a Ryan Moats sighting; he had more than 50 total yards and a score. Moats plays for Houston these days, in case you were wondering. Or didn't know. Or, more than likely, didn't care. Najeh Davenport, a member of the Colts these days, had 80 total yards, and midseason darling Donnie Avery had 40 yards and a score while sitting on waiver wires.

… That listeners of the Fantasy Focus podcast I do with Nate Ravitz should note that Steven Jackson ran very effectively. He had 30 carries for 161 yards (for 5.4 yards per carry), and finished with more than 200 total yards and two touchdowns. Of course, Edgerrin James ran 14 times for 100 yards (a 7.1-yard average) because life isn't fair.

… That in a week in which a lot of studs didn't play much (both Mannings, Pierre Thomas, Marshawn Lynch, Chris Johnson, Brandon Jacobs, Anquan Boldin, Frank Gore) or didn't show up even though they did play (the Patriots' passing game, Larry Johnson, Matt Ryan, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Tashard Choice, Brian Westbrook), we should applaud the studs who did show up, including: Andre Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Le'Ron McClain, Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams, Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Aaron Rodgers, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Turner, Clinton Portis, Greg Jennings and Calvin Johnson.

… That Pacman Jones made it rain for the Eagles.

… That I said on Fantasy Football Now this morning that Brett Favre is an overrated choke artist.

… That Tony Romo is the new Brett Favre.

… That I saw my first previews of the "new" "American Idol." You know how we have that "countdown to kickoff" clock on "Sunday NFL Countdown" and Fantasy Football Now? Well, having seen what the new female judge looks like, can we go ahead and start that clock on "Idol"? The countdown to Paula's last show, that is.

… That the most surprising performance in an already-shocking day was Michael Bush's. The third-string running back, on the road against a Tampa Bay team that had yet to give up a rushing touchdown at home all year, ran for 177 yards and scored twice. He was started in 0.6 percent of ESPN.com leagues.

… That for the third straight week, Michael Jenkins had more yards than Roddy White. White, however, got the score. Jenkins finishes the regular season with at least 50 yards in nine of his last 11 games.

… That Bill Simmons wrote the following in his mailbag column Friday: "… the Celtics' 19-game winning streak came to a screeching halt on Christmas Day, thanks to Kobe Bryant and a gritty 15-man Lakers team (I'm including the refs)."

… That Bill and every other Celtics fan should note that after Game 2 of last year's NBA Finals, in which the Celtics had 38 free throws to the Lakers' 10 -- backup center Leon Powe had three free throws more than the entire Lakers team -- and the Celtics won by just six points, you are all banned from whining about ref calls in any Lakers-Celtics game from here 'til the end of time. And you're certainly banned from whining about the refs following a regular-season game in which Tony Allen and Rajon Rondo shot a combined 6-for-20 from the field. Seriously. The Lakers shot seven more free throws than the Celtics. Not something crazy like 28 -- in a Finals game.

… That you should consider these numbers from the past three weeks:

Running back A: 462 total yards
Running back B: 360 total yards
Running back C: 377 total yards

Running back C is DeAngelo Williams. Running back B is Adrian Peterson. And running back A is … Cedric Benson. This doesn't include touchdowns, but still …

… That Detroit's Kevin Smith scored in his last three games, and on Sunday, he finished 1 yard short of posting his third straight 100-yard game. Nice sleeper for next season.

… That speaking of sleepers for next season and scoring in three straight games, Johnnie Lee Higgins qualifies there as well.

… And three other "under-the-radar" guys who finished the season strong: Deion Branch, Mark Clayton and Anthony Fasano.

… That JaMarcus Russell finishes the year with two touchdown passes in each of the last three games, the last one coming on the road at Tampa Bay.

… That second only to Michael Bush's performance in weirdness was Jamal Lewis'. On the road at Pittsburgh, he managed to run for 94 yards.

… That I love that fantasy commercial with all the sad fantasy teams, promoting postseason fantasy football -- which we have for free right here on ESPN.com. Compete with me and all the other ESPN fantasy analysts in Gridiron Playoff Challenge. You can sign up to play here.

… That it was a week too late for Donald Driver, DeShaun Foster, Lance Moore and Dwayne Bowe, among others, to help us. They had nice games, but we really could have used those last week. A lot of people got burned by Foster, especially, last week.

… That it was nice to see Carnell Williams get two scores. Not as nice, though, was seeing him clutch his knee in pain. Again.

… That despite all the crap I took when I called Frank Gore a second-rounder before the season, he will finish the year as no better than the 14th-best fantasy running back. And he once again killed owners down the stretch, with two goose eggs and three single-digit-fantasy-point games in his final six games.

… That I'm sick of the commercial in which the crazy-hot blond bartender says, "Let's talk about commitment," and the guys freak out until she says something like, "Relax, I'm talking about the beer's commitment to excellence." And she proceeds to lecture them on how great the beer is. First off, I've never been lectured by a bartender in my life, at least not about how good a beer I've just ordered is. The guys just ordered it -- they're convinced it's good. Plus, not one guy in America would freak out if that girl started talking about commitment. These guys have "tool" written all over them. Trust me, they'd be thrilled to get attention from a girl like that.

… That those who want to hear my preseason predictions -- what I nailed and what I whiffed on -- should tune in to an upcoming Fantasy Focus podcast Nate and I will do. Be sure to look for it.

… That it has been a blast, a privilege and occasionally a pain in the butt (not gonna lie) to write for you every week. I appreciate all of you taking the time to read. Even the haters; your page clicks count the exact same as the nice folks! I'm taking a good long break and will see you back around these parts for baseball season.

But I will leave you with my top 10 at quarterback, running back and wide receiver for next season, just off the top of my head. It's never too soon to think about it:

Quarterback

1. Drew Brees
2. Tom Brady (if healthy at the start of camp)
3. Kurt Warner
4. Peyton Manning
5. Tony Romo
6. Aaron Rodgers
7. Jay Cutler
8. Philip Rivers
9. Donovan McNabb
10. Tyler Thigpen (if he plays all 16 games, he'll run for 700-plus yards)

Running back

1. Michael Turner
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Matt Forte
4. Brian Westbrook
5. Clinton Portis
6. Chris Johnson
7. Steven Jackson
8. Brandon Jacobs
9. Maurice Jones-Drew
10. LaDainian Tomlinson

(Sorry, I just don't think DeAngelo Williams or Thomas Jones will score the way they did this year, and I think LT gets healthy and gets a true fullback and offensive line in the offseason.)

Wide receiver

1. Randy Moss
2. Calvin Johnson
3. Anquan Boldin
4. Andre Johnson
5. Steve Smith
6. Roddy White
7. Larry Fitzgerald
8. Marques Colston
9. Reggie Wayne
10. Greg Jennings

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- has a birthday on Monday the 29th. He has always hated having a birthday this close to the holidays. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings from Week 16 games

Vul-ture (noun) [Latin vultur]

1: a very large bird of prey that feeds on the flesh of dead animals
2: a person who profits from the misfortune and weakness of others

It was a weekend of large birds of prey feeding on the flesh of dead animals. Er, I mean the other definition.

That was the word that kept running through my mind as I watched today's games. Vulture. LaMont Jordan? Vonta Leach? LaMont Jordan again?

No guy enjoys being "blocked" from scoring. Not at a nightclub, and certainly not in his fantasy football championship (or semifinals, depending on your league settings). We all know that guy at the bar who has no interest in helping you out. Or the "platonic best friend" who you know really likes a girl, but she can't see it, and all he does is kill everyone else's game.

Well, in Week 16, a lot of those guys showed up. Here are the top 10 worst offenders:

10. Bill Belichick

Ever since he ran up the score on Joe Gibbs last year, I've thought of Belichick as a bully. He has been called a cheater by the NFL, and he has been karmically cursed ever since. But a little fantasy help sure would be nice. New England scored 47 points, including three scores by running backs, and Sammy Morris had none of them. Morris still had a nice game (133 total yards) … but it should have been awesome. The weather played a big factor in this game, of course, but it was interesting that both Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald did absolutely nothing, and yet both got bailed out by huge touchdown plays.

9. Le'Ron McClain

So I was talking to a buddy I work with, and he told me he was playing against a guy who had McClain, Tony Romo and Jason Witten. And I had Romo and Witten as guys I didn't like this week. Well, the Baltimore-Dallas game was almost over, and none of those three players had done much all game. Cool. My buddy's team is looking good, and so are my picks. Then McClain goes and busts one for a long score. Ridiculous. Then Romo goes nuts, throwing all over the place in desperation, and throws a touchdown pass to Witten. McClain should have taken a knee instead of scoring, a la Brian Westbrook. It ended up not mattering for the team, but the Ravens never should have given the ball back to Dallas. Thus, McClain blocked a lot of guys by actually scoring. Or, I suppose, helped a lot of guys. That's why he's the No. 9-ranked vulture; he could go either way here.

8. B.J. Askew and Darren Sproles

In a game in which fantasy owners were starting LaDainian Tomlinson, and many had both Warrick Dunn and Cadillac Williams going, none of these players scored, yet Askew and Sproles got in. Oh, and Brandon Manumaleuna got a score, keeping Vincent Jackson from having a truly amazing game. And the Bucs defense, after being so tough against the pass at home all year, didn't show up either: Philip Rivers had an amazing game, with 280 yards and four touchdowns.

7. Nate Ravitz and Cedric Benson

I'm sure we will discuss this on Monday's Fantasy Focus podcast, but these two guys combined to make the Bengals-Browns game truly horrific for me. My hatred of Benson is well-documented. But I've had to begrudgingly admit that he has been good of late. I even had him in my "Love" section in Thursday's "Week 16 Love/Hate" column. But what does Nate do? He calls me this morning to go over one of his championship decisions: Leon Washington, Warrick Dunn and Cedric Benson. The jerk forces me to talk him into Cedric Benson. Do you have any idea how painful that was for me? Then Cedric goes off. He carries 38 times for 171 yards. … In fact, he's so effective that he blocked T.J. Houshmandzadeh from catching even one pass.

6. Gosder Cherilus

He's a rookie guard from Boston College. He's on the offensive line for the Lions. And when he was called for illegal procedure in the first quarter, he erased Calvin Johnson's 43-yard touchdown catch. Speaking of that game …

5. Mike Shanahan and lawyers

Stupid Mike Shanahan and his revolving running back door … Shanahan releases Mike Bell, in a year when the Broncos could have really used him. (Look, he's better than Tatum). So Bell signed with the Saints -- and somehow found his way into the end zone this week in Detroit. He ended up with 40 total yards and a score. And stupid Deuce McAllister, who wouldn't even be playing if not for the appeal of his suspension, also stole a goal-line carry from Pierre Thomas and scored. Thomas still ended up having a good game (103 total yards and a score), but it should have been an amazing game against the Lions when you consider the Saints scored 42 points and Drew Brees threw only two touchdown passes.

4. Ricky Williams, Ted Ginn Jr. and Patrick Cobbs

If I told you the Dolphins had 168 rushing yards and scored two rushing touchdowns, and that Ricky Williams had only one of the scores and just 34 yards rushing, then you'd think Ronnie Brown had a pretty good day, wouldn't you? You'd be wrong. Ronnie had 32 yards rushing. I was playing Nate in the championship game of an internal ESPN league, and he had Brown, so I'm very happy to report this one. And unless Mason Crosby scores 32 points on Monday night, I'm winning this league. Not gonna lie. Feels pretty good.

3. The Chiefs

Someone explain to me how Tyler Thigpen throws for 320 yards and the Chiefs put up 31 points, and yet Dwayne Bowe has only three catches for 28 yards? I was happy to see Thigpen go off again, of course, with 57 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown as well.

2. The New England weather and the Cardinals' offensive line

Kurt Warner: 30 yards passing. Need I say more?

1. Nnamdi Asomugha

I was the lowest among our rankers on Andre Johnson this week, and I got a lot of flak for having him as a "Hate" in my Love/Hate column. Among my reasons for having him lower than Kevin Walter was Nnamdi's coverage skills, the fact that Johnson had been a lot worse on the road than at home this season (he had not had a 100 yards and a touchdown in a road game), and finally, prior to last week's monster game, he had had only one 100-yard game in his six previous games. But still, I said that you should start him, but lower your expectations. But no one expected this: Two receptions, 19 yards.

Others receiving votes: My crappy Redskins, showing up a week too late and stopping Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook; the Raiders, who shut down Matt Schaub (man, I loved him this week); the Vikings, who managed to turn the ball over so often that Adrian Peterson became very human and Chester Taylor's four-game scoring streak ended; Jerious Norwood, for stealing a short receiving touchdown from Michael Turner or Roddy White (you pick); and, of course, Mike Holmgren, who once again shut down Brett Favre. (Brett now has only five touchdown passes and 10 interceptions in five career games versus his former coach.)

Here are some e-mail examples of why fantasy football is a cruel mistress:

Rob (Dallas): "I am in a fantasy league in which we decided to create a 'bye-week' team comprised entirely of undrafted players because there were an odd number of owners in the league, and we thought it would be a nice way to offset having one team sit out every week. Needless to say, this bye-week team made it to the playoffs without ever making a single roster change (even when the starters had bye weeks) and went so far as to eliminate me in the first round of the playoffs. My question is: Why should I ever, ever, ever play fantasy football again if a team that never made a single roster change and was comprised entirely of undrafted players can do better than me?"

TMR: Free fantasy baseball, with free live scoring, fully customizable options and auction draft capabilities, will be available in early 2009, right here on ESPN.com!

Shawn (withheld): "Regarding [an earlier] complaint about you whining: Is that guy serious? He's really serious about a guy whining after his fantasy team has been knocked out of the playoffs for the year? A simple, more appropriate response would have been, "Dude, you just don't get it!" My fantasy season is now over, and I get it. There are only two teams I care about: The Indianapolis Colts and my Skoal Bandits. Now the Bandits have been eliminated. When your fantasy team wins, life is good. All of it. When it loses, things turn south. You want whining? Even my food doesn't taste as good now. I don't even think the [lovemaking] is as good at my house anymore. Losing sucks. Losing to some [loser] with a team that went off at the worst possible moment is worse. OK, I'll admit, I like your column. Do every week. So I may be biased. But you go ahead and whine this week. Some of us out here completely get it. My name is withheld for fear the wife might read the [lovemaking] comment."

TMR: Hold that thought. I'm about to make you feel worse.

Jay (unknown): "TMR … Which Williams do I start? Cadillac at home versus San Diego or DeAngelo on the road versus the Giants? Help! I gotta win this championship game!

TMR: Wait a minute. You're in the championship game and you seriously are wondering which one of these two guys to start? I think I'd rather lose to a bye-week team.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is writing just one column this week (a Love/Hate on Wednesday) due to the holidays and it being Week 17. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings from Sunday's games

For me to have a good weekend during the NFL season, three things need to happen:

1. My Redskins need to win.
2. My fantasy teams need to win.
3. Most importantly, my picks need to pan out correctly.

I've had better weekends.

I've been a Redskins fan since I was 5. That will never change. Apparently I was an evil person in a former life. How else to explain the torture I must go through? I am so disgusted by their loss to the Bengals that I can't even speak.

As millions of Clinton Portis owners looked on, Mike Sellers got not one but two goal-line carries, failing on both and fumbling the second one.

It was just one of a number of bizarre things that happened today. I'll whine about my fantasy teams in a moment, and I generally had a pretty good week with my picks, but I did have Matt Cassel on my "Hate" list. Yeesh.

Throughout the day, I kept hearing John McEnroe's voice in my head. Remember Johnny Mac back in the day, yelling at the chair umpire?

"You can't be serious! You cannot be serious!

That's what I kept thinking as I watched football all day.

My Top 10 "You Cannot Be Serious!" Week 15 performances:

10. Cedric Benson racks up 161 total yards against a top-10 run defense. I still hate him, but you have to give him some consideration next year if he stays in Cincinnati.

9. Ryan Grant gets 21 rushes against the Jags' 19th-ranked run defense -- and averages just 2.7 yards per carry. Thanks, Ryan. We'll come back to you. He gets that many carries and averages so few yards per carry, and yet …

8. Chris Johnson averages 5 yards per carry against Houston -- and gets only 13 carries.

7. Speaking of that Titans-Texans game, Andre Johnson had gone over 100 yards receiving only once in the past six weeks. This week he gets more than 200 yards, plus a score, against the No. 3 pass defense in the league.

6. Playing against each other, David Garrard has more fantasy points than Aaron Rodgers. Brian Griese more than doubles up Matt Ryan. And Peyton Manning has just one fantasy point more than Dan Orlovsky.

5. Philip Rivers has maybe 200 yards, some turnovers and not much else through three and half quarters -- and finishes with 346 yards and two touchdowns.

4. Consider these two wide receivers:

Player A: 428 yards, 3 TDs.
Player B: 223 yards, 0 TDs.

Player A is Torry Holt at home this year. Player B is Torry Holt on the road. The big surprise, of course, is that I am even writing about Torry Holt. But Holt did have 12 fantasy points Sunday.

3. Twelve fantasy points is pretty good, especially when you consider the following wideouts got five points or fewer this weekend: Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Marvin Harrison, Anthony Gonzalez, Lee Evans, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Anquan Boldin, Santonio Holmes, and Derrick Mason.

2. Albert Haynesworth going out with an injury. Which makes Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore very interesting plays, instead of bad plays, next week against Tennessee.

1. In the Arizona-Minnesota game, there was a quarterback who threw for four touchdowns. And it wasn't Kurt Warner. You cannot be serious!

So, so frustrating. I don't know if you saw it, but there was this whole campaign from Verizon in which you could enter to play in a league with me. I'm in the semifinals in that league, and I won my division with a 9-4 record. Because of the way the divisions were set up, I played the other 9-4 team, which is owned by ESPN colleague Tristan Cockcroft.

Think you know who will win all 34 bowl games this season? Put your prognosticating skills to the test in College Bowl Mania, featuring both confidence-style and straight-up selections. Sign up and play for free

Guess which one of us had Chris Johnson, Ryan Grant and Thomas Jones, and guess who had Andre Johnson, Dallas Clark and Steven Jackson. It's all good. I just need the Giants' defense to score 25 points tonight. Sigh. The guy who won the Verizon contest, Lester Patrick, and fellow ESPNer Nate Ravitz play in the other semifinal game, after both finished with 7-6 records.

I've gotten tons of sob stories as well, so I know I am not alone in this nutty year. I was in a 12-team "expert" league and another 14-team internal ESPN fantasy editors and writers league. In each league, I was fourth in total points. In each league, I led in points against and did not make the playoffs. I made the playoffs in every other league but have fallen victim to DeAngelo Williams a few too many times.

Seriously now. You cannot be serious!

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- has starred in more than just this blog in the past week. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings from Sunday's games

Fantasy football is both exhilarating and frustrating, wonderful and horrible. It has highs and lows … it's a roller coaster of emotion every week, and probably no more so than in the playoffs.

This TRUM is going to be even more rambling and all over the place than normal, because no real definitive themes or ideas came to me while watching football today. That's just the kind of day it was. As always, though, be sure to read Eric Karabell's Instant Replay on Monday for a more comprehensive reaction to Week 14.

For this blog, I wrote down three words: frustration, rookies, Michael.

The frustration part for me was trying to determine the most frustrating emotion caused by fantasy football. Is it when your opponent has scrubs that go off? Is it seeing your starting running back get tackled on the 1-yard line, or seeing a goal-line vulture come in and take away his potential score? Is it seeing big days from players on your bench, such as Darren Sproles, who was sitting on a good number of his owners' benches Thursday night? How about seeing a guy you traded away -- or even worse, dropped because they were terrible -- go off later in the season?

All of them are horrific, but to me, the worst is when your studs -- the guys you count on -- don't show up in the playoffs. You fight all season long, you get into the playoffs and then, when you need them, they don't do anything and you lose.

I made the playoffs in four of my six leagues, with one league still to be decided. The only league in which I officially didn't make the playoffs is our own internal ESPN Fantasy league with our editors and writers. It's a 14-team PPR league, and I was fourth in total points. First overall, of course, in points against. What are you gonna do?

Anyway, back to the studs not showing up. I play in a longtime keeper league in which I co-own a team with a former college roommate, Chris Lindsay, and the league also features fellow ESPN Fantasy columnist AJ Mass. Chris and I went 9-4 during the regular season. AJ's team was 7-6, and we actually beat him last week, but in a weird scheduling quirk, we had to play him again this week.

Joseph Addai not showing up is gonna cost us, and Donald Driver and Kevin Curtis didn't do much for us either. Meanwhile, AJ had everyone go off. Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Turner, Reggie Bush, John Carlson … sigh. We have studs like Chris Johnson, Steve Slaton, Kurt Warner, Brandon Marshall -- they all showed up. But no Driver, no Addai, and then there's the stupid Green Bay defense -- again, it's a longtime keeper league, and there's very little available on waivers -- which had negative points for the third straight week.

So Addai is on my angry list. Who else didn't show up this week?

Bernard Berrian: Tarvaris Jackson's return at quarterback is not good news for Berrian.
Marques Colston: Just when I really needed you …
Eli Manning: The second-half-swoon trend continues.
Donovan McNabb: On the road at New York isn't the same as being at home versus Arizona on a short week, now is it?
Brandon Jacobs: It's not really his fault; he got hurt. Meanwhile, Derrick Ward needs to be picked up immediately if he is available. Same for Ahmad Bradshaw.
Packers defense/special teams: And they had a return touchdown called back. Aaarrrggghh!

Plus, Reggie Wayne, all the Browns, Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas, Big Ben, all the Bills and Frank Gore (but not really his fault) …

Who did show up? Who deserves our fantasy praise?

Well, there's Roddy White and Matt Ryan. Devin Hester continued his nice run with Kyle Orton back, with five catches for 80 yards. Pierre Thomas proved that having Bush back helps, not hurts. Brian Westbrook made up for lost time. Matt Forte is the man. Welcome back, Matt Schaub. Thank you, Ryan Grant. And Tony Gonzalez. And how about Deion Branch sticking it to his former team?

The other two words I wrote down? "Rookies" was one of them. I don't remember a year in recent memory when so many rookies have made such an impact.

Rookie quarterbacks Ryan and Joe Flacco have been terrific, and Matt Cassel and Tyler Thigpen might as well be rookies. The aforementioned Forte, Chris Johnson, Peyton Hillis, Tim Hightower, Tashard Choice (who got the start today for Dallas), DeSean "Thanks for nothing today" Jackson, Eddie Royal, Davone Bess, Dustin Keller also have been impressive.

I normally don't like any rookies except for running backs, but this year has proved to be the exception. And when you look at who carried the day for fantasy playoff teams, you'd be hard-pressed to find a team in the playoffs that has not gotten a significant contribution from a rookie this season.

The last thing I wrote was "Michael," which refers to my ESPN colleague, Michael Smith. He told me he now has a "never own again" list. No matter what else they do for the rest of their careers, he won't own them. Too frustrating, too up and down, burned on too many occasions.

Reggie Wayne, Brett Favre, Greg Olsen, Marvin Harrison, Brandon Marshall, all the Browns and Jaguars and Steven Jackson are all on his list. Addai just made mine. Same for Terrell Owens. Who is on yours?

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is a little bitter. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings from Sunday's games

We all do it.

Every play, every decision, every moment … we either get excited or curse ourselves (and our favorite columnist) for lineup decisions we have made and game events.

Why'd I play that guy? I can't believe I sat so-and-so. Are you kidding me? Why are they giving it to/throwing it to/not playing that guy?

We've all said it. Lord knows I felt it today.

Already depressed because of how my Redskins got dismantled by the Giants, I kept hearing chants of "Sit 'em!" followed by laughter in the "War Room" every time Donald Driver did something positive. He was among my sits this week on Sunday Countdown. I've been having a pretty good year on Countdown so far, but not today. Anthony Gonzalez (two catches, 13 yards) was a start. Driver (five catches, 83 yards, one score) and Marques Colston (six catches, 106 yards) were sits. I couldn't have been more off if I tried.

Everything is fair game in the War Room, and I actually was flattered that for once I was the one getting crap from the gang. Finally, Chris Mortensen came up to me and said, "This'll make you feel better."

Mort told me how he had heard from a good source that the Eagles didn't think Brian Westbrook would make it through the first quarter. Westbrook was a game-time decision; he'd had single-digit fantasy points in four straight games; the Cardinals had a top-10 run defense. … Mort benched him in his fantasy league.

Mort is as smart and informed a football guy as there is on the planet, OK? He talks to everybody. Everybody.

Made me feel a little better. Until I realized that I was playing against DeAngelo Williams in a league, and the guy also had Westbrook. Sigh.

I'm so angry at some guys, and yet pleased with others, that I thought I would do a quick version of "Love/Hate: the recap edition" for this week's TRUM.

Week 13 Players I Loved

Marshawn Lynch, RB, Bills: That's now three straight weeks with more than 100 total yards. I have a bet with Nate Ravitz on our Fantasy Focus Football podcast on Marion Barber -32 versus Marshawn, in total fantasy points. With four weeks to go, it's Barber 166, Lynch 137.

Frank Gore, RB, 49ers: That's a second straight disappointing week, by his standards; he had 89 total yards and has a good Jets run defense on the docket next week. He's making my preseason prediction look a little better.

Isaac Bruce, WR, 49ers: After being red-hot and then disappearing, Bruce now has a score in two straight games, and you have to like him next week against the porous Jets pass defense.

Le'Ron McClain, RB, Ravens: I tell you, McClain is "mavericky." He continues to be the Ravens runner you want. He had 86 total yards Sunday, and Willis McGahee was nowhere to be found.

Davone Bess, WR, Dolphins: As seen in last week's Talented Mr. Roto column. Bess had another good week, with six catches for 84 yards.

Steven Jackson, RB, Rams: Welcome back.

Lance Moore, WR, Saints: Now has a score in five straight games.

Drew Brees, QB, Saints: He had a better game than it looked, considering he was at Tampa Bay.

Amani Toomer and Domenik Hixon, WR, Giants: Plaxico who?

Peyton Hillis, RB, Broncos: Another game, this time on the road against the Jets? Now that is legit.

Thomas Jones, RB, Jets: Sometimes it's just nice to see someone do what he's supposed to.

Sammy Morris, RB, Patriots: Gets the Pats' goal-line carries, is available in a ton of leagues and looks good. And look at New England's upcoming schedule: at Seattle, at Oakland, Arizona, at Buffalo.

Harry Douglas, WR, Falcons: A week after getting 92 yards, he scores a touchdown.

Week 13 Players I Hated

Derrick Mason, WR, Ravens: Because I was playing against him. Good to see him back with a six-for-91-and-a-score game, though.

Mark Clayton, WR, Ravens: Because he has been dead for three years, and now he shows up? Ignore it.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, Chiefs: Had him as a sit this week. Guess I got that right. Whew.

All your Colts: The loss of Jeff Saturday definitely didn't help, because none of the Colts showed up. Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, my "start" Anthony Gonzalez … and Joseph Addai wasn't great, either. Sigh. I'd be worried, but then I look at the Colts' upcoming schedule. They get the Bengals and Lions next.

Braylon Edwards, WR, Browns: Not only did I sit Braylon in the one league I own him in, I made the right decision. Disgusting.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers: Because Nate owns him, and I played Nate in a league this weekend. He's gonna finish the year as a top-5 fantasy running back. Jonathan Stewart looked like he tweaked something, but still. … Williams proved he could handle the goal-line carries. He now has 10 scores in his past six games.

Donald Driver, WR, Packers: You know how long I've been on this guy? How long I've been telling you to trust me when I said he'd come around? And then I finally bail this week, and he goes off. The Panthers had a top-10 pass defense, but it didn't look like it.

Ryan Grant, RB, Packers: Just when he was healthy again …

Marques Colston, WR, Saints: See Driver, Donald.

Carnell Williams, RB, Buccaneers: See Clayton, Mark.

Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers: Just when I say I was wrong, Rivers is consistent. … He puts up this stinker.

All my Redskins: They looked terrible. But then, the Giants will do that to you. And now the Skins head on the road to Baltimore next week. Not great, but they do get the Bengals in Week 15 if you can survive until then.

Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore, RB, Steelers: Just pick one. I don't care who.

Justin Fargas, RB, Raiders: Among the reasons I used to promote Darren McFadden this week was the fact that Fargas had yet to score a touchdown this year. So what does Fargas do? Exactly that. Sigh.

Tyler Thigpen, QB, Chiefs: Why, Tyler? Why???????

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- played against a guy who had DeAngelo Williams and Brian Westbrook on the same team. Good times. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

I once had an idea for a column opening awhile back, but I ended up scrapping it. I didn't like where it went, so I trashed it and did something else. But at its core, it was this:

I asked a few people to describe me in three adjectives.

My kid brother Jonathan chose "brilliant, neurotic, determined."

My college roommate Chris Lindsay chose "passionate, funny, mensch."

My ex-wife Rachel chose "competitive, ambitious, loyal."

I found all of these answers fascinating, mostly because they are about me. I was just as surprised as you that no one chose "narcissistic."

I am all these things and more. Including "quizzical."

As we all headed into the meat of Week 11, I had 10 questions I wanted to see answered. Here they are, and their answers:

1. Are Terrell Owens and Randy Moss done as elite receivers?

I've gotten tons of e-mails about these two guys, with their owners freaking out. Owens had not had more than 40 yards receiving in five straight weeks. Moss had a score last week to salvage a terrible game against the Jets but was coming into this week with three straight weeks of single-digit fantasy points.

Well, both guys showed why you drafted them early. Owens had seven catches for 213 yards and a score; Moss had 125 yards and three touchdowns. Both looked like the studs you drafted. Owens will keep it going against Seattle on Thanksgiving Day, but Moss has tough matchups in two of his next three, with the Steelers next week and then the Raiders and my man Nnamdi Asomugha in Week 15. You're still starting Moss no matter what, but a heads-up for those in salary cap leagues. Either way, once again, lesson learned: Always start your studs. Ten percent of T.O. owners and 12 percent of Randy's owners left their man on the bench.

2. What's up with the Eagles?

I don't know, but I do know this: I'm not starting any of them with any degree of confidence. Any. Of. Them. Now, they also have a short week and a good matchup at home against Arizona in Week 13. If I have Brian Westbrook, I start him despite another horrific game from him (that's four straight now). My guess is, because this game makes no sense whatsoever, that Donovan McNabb starts and has a good game. The Cardinals are terrible on the road; they have a short week; and they're a West Coast team traveling east. In fact, I say DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis also have good games. But it will be a short-term solution. This team is an overall mess. If I own anyone other than Westbrook, I am making alternative plans. And these days Westbrook is looking like a No. 2 back, not a No. 1.

3. Can Thomas Jones be stopped?

Hottest running back in the league versus the Titans' great run defense. Winner? Jones, with 117 total yards and a score. He now has 10 touchdowns in his past seven games. And I thought the Titans were exposed a bit. The Jaguars had some success against them last week. And Matt Forte did OK against them in Week 10, and Ryan Grant also ran well against them in Week 9. They still have a very good run defense, but it should no longer be considered elite. And yeah, Leon Washington continues to be useful in deeper leagues, with two scores and 84 total yards.

4. Was Jerome Harrison a one-week wonder or is there something there?

There's something there for the Cleveland running back. Jamal Lewis had 10 carries for 58 yards, and Harrison followed up his big game from last week with seven carries for 31 yards. Lewis had only three more carries, and he had a costly fumble. Lewis is still your starter, but watch Harrison get more and more action as the weeks roll on.

5. Was Kyle Orton a flash in the pan, or would he return to being the fantasy stud he was before his injury?

Stud. In his first game back, he wasn't 100 percent healthy, and it's hard to come back from injury and play on the road at Green Bay. But this week against the Rams would be a truer test. He should have put up big numbers against them. And he didn't. Only 139 yards and a score. But he looked good. This was a case in which Matt Forte was even better, and the Bears didn't have a need to throw because they were up big. I still like Orton quite a bit going forward.

6. What would drive me nuts?

The week after I admitted I was wrong in saying that Frank Gore wasn't worth a first-round pick, he puts up a huge stinker (32 total yards) against Dallas. Meanwhile, Trent Edwards scores four touchdowns. What?! Trent Edwards? Quinn Gray takes a touchdown away from my beloved Tyler Thigpen. The Patriots have three rushing touchdowns, and none of them comes from Sammy Morris. Not worried about Gore or Thigpen (who still had a huge game), not buying Trent, and I still say Morris is the Patriots runner I want if I must have one. But clearly, Matt Cassel is a top-five guy the rest of the way.

6. Who is the Ravens running back you want to own?

Honestly, none of them. But as I mentioned last week, Le'Ron McClain has been the leading fantasy back in six of 11 games this year. McClain had 18 carries for 88 yards and a score, while Willis McGahee did nothing. Ray Rice had a decent game catching the ball, but if you must start a Ravens runner, McClain is the one you want.

7. Is Tim Hightower done?

No. And then no again.

8. What about Jake Delhomme?

I thought he looked pretty good on the road against Atlanta, actually. And DeAngelo Williams continues to be terrific and an every-week start.

9. Would I look like a complete idiot?

I mean, more than normal anyway? Every Sunday, I do a "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em" segment for Sunday Countdown. Here's how it works: Every Friday, I pick six guys I like to "start" and three guys I want to "sit." I send them to Merril Hoge, who picks the two on which he agrees the most with me. I had Warrick Dunn and Dustin Keller this week. Dunn went nuts (I had him at No. 5 overall this week), and Keller was very so-so for a tight end.

But my sits were Philip Rivers, Ronnie Brown and Brandon Marshall. I got a lot of "Wow, some gutty calls" comments in the "War Room" today. I was sweating them in a "Larry Johnson goes off kind of way." It's always tough, of course. You don't want to go on national TV and say "Bench Daunte Culpepper," or something obvious. So I always look for guys who would normally be started or at least a strong consideration.

Anyway, those three all had "Berry is more of an idiot than normal" potential. And as I write this, Rivers has yet to play, Brown did nothing (10 carries for 37 yards and no scores), and Marshall (four catches for 84 yards) was solid but not amazing or anything. So far, so good.

10. Would someone win $1 million from ESPN.com?

No. A bunch of folks came close. As you probably know, our Streak for the Cash game is giving away $1 million to the first person to correctly pick 25 in a row. Heading into the weekend, we had four different people who could have gotten to 25 and won. Boston College's defeat of Wake Forest took out Scott Conant and his 23-game win streak. Carolina's loss to Atlanta took out two more. Our new leader is now at 23. But those last two are always the toughest. ...

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is very happy he didn't play against teams that had Michael Turner this week. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

D. Stroyer (Honolulu): What the heck does TRUM stand for?

TMR: It stands for Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless Information and Musings. Because that's all it is. As always, for a comprehensive look at Week 11, be sure to read Eric Karabell's "Instant Replay."

---

I never saw the movie, but I always liked the title "10 Things I Hate About You."

And I am nothing if not willing to lift an idea and then bend it for a flimsy column premise.

So here are 10 things I hated about Week 11:

1. That it took until Week 11 …

… for some guys to show up big, such as T.J. Houshmandzadeh (12 catches for 149 yards and a score) and Joseph Addai (153 total yards and two scores).

Both should be in upcoming fantasy trades. You should be selling Houshmandzadeh and buying Addai. Look at T.J.'s upcoming schedule (at Pittsburgh, Baltimore, at Indy, Washington, before heading to Cleveland in Week 16 and hosting KC in Week 17). None of those, really, is a good matchup, and while I think Housh will give you a consistent 7-8 points per game (like he has for a while), he's not gonna be the guy you drafted (which is what he looked like today).

Meanwhile, Addai's schedule gets crazy easy, including Cincy, Detroit and at Jacksonville in the fantasy playoffs.

2. That Kevin Smith continues to get no love.

How many weeks do I gotta talk about this guy? He's owned in only 81 percent of leagues, and he was started in just 25 percent of 'em. And on the road at Carolina he continued to look good. Really good. He racked up 135 total yards and now has double-digit fantasy points in four of his past five games. His upcoming schedule is not great; then again, neither is facing the Jaguars or the Bears and Panthers on the road, which he has done the past three weeks and gotten double digits each time.

3. Mike Shanahan, Week 11.

We said if you had to start a Broncos running back, it should be Peyton Hillis. But honestly, I didn't trust him, and left him on the bench in the one league I have him in. He got two scores and 13 touches for 70 yards, but P.J. Pope and Tatum Bell also got in the mix, and of even bigger concern is that Jay Cutler had another so-so game. For a "stud" fantasy quarterback, he has been very average lately. He has 13 fantasy points or fewer (in standard ESPN scoring) in four of his past five games, with only the crazy Browns shootout on a short week generating huge points.

4. The short-lived resurgence of Marques Colston.

After his big game last week, Colston went back to being a disappointment while Lance Moore continued his "Fantasy Football Hall of Fame" campaign. I'm gonna list some numbers for you: 15, 13, 16. Those are Moore's fantasy points the past three weeks. He has scored in each of the past three weeks, and he's owned in only 73 percent of leagues. Worse, he was started in just 25 percent of leagues this week. He's now an every-week start in leagues that play three wide receivers.

5. The obscure touchdown vulture.

Two scores for Ahman Green; it's clear he's the red zone back, and that's it. Steve Slaton still had a huge game, but it could have been even bigger. B.J. Askew, Pierre Thomas (who looked better than Deuce McAllister, but Reggie Bush will be back next week), Le'Ron McClain and J.J. Arrington are among the running backs very few people started who got into the end zone.

6. That I know I won't hear again from the following reader:

Ben (Brownsburg): Look, I'm gonna make this crystal clear and very quick. You are dead wrong about Tyler Thigpen. I'm not gonna say he is gonna be terrible the rest of the way, but truthfully I don't see him getting anything more than 14 points the rest of the way, including this week. I think he is a one-hit wonder who will disappoint many people this week because of your ranking of fourth, ahead of people such as McNabb and Cutler.

You keep talking about how Thigpen has the second-most points behind Warner, but what you failed to mention was that in Week 9, without a 37-yard TD reception, he scored 12 points, and if you want to take out the 22 rushing yards, he had only 10 points. That is one point more than Trent Edwards in Week 9. He had a good week last week, but it was against San Diego. Everybody, and I mean everybody, plays good against that terrible defense. There is no denying the Saints defense is bad, but not San Diego bad. You are gonna ruin everybody's weeks this week, and you are gonna have to explain yourself come Monday. One more thing: If you are ranking him fourth, then you must be starting him. I highly doubt he is owned in any of your leagues, considering he is owned in only 50 percent of leagues. So if you're so confident in him, I dare you to pick him up and start him.

TMR: I started Thigpen in three of my six leagues. I started Brees, Warner and Delhomme once each in the other three (the Delhomme league is a 14-teamer and Thigpen is not available). Now, I definitely got some rankings wrong this week (like my higher-than-average selection of Thigpen's teammate, Mark Bradley), but this wasn't one of them.

Just for the record: Thigpen finished with 19 points in ESPN standard scoring, Jay Cutler had 12 and Donovan McNabb had 9. The most frustrating thing is Thigpen should have had more. The Chiefs were inside the 10-yard line multiple times and kept giving it to crappy Larry Johnson, who couldn't convert. I like Thigpen at home next week against Buffalo, too.

7. Speaking of wrong rankings and Donovan McNabb …

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little worried about Brian Westbrook. He now has single-digit fantasy points in three straight games, and he gets Baltimore next week. That matchup will officially knock him off my "start-every-week-no-matter-what" list. Something just isn't right with Philadelphia.

8. Baltimore, the Denver Broncos of the East.

This week McClain was the highest-scoring running back for the Ravens. Just for fun, I decided to go back and look at the highest-scoring running back each week for the Ravens:

Week 1: McClain, 10
3: McClain, 18
4: McClain, 14
5: McClain, 12
6: Rice, 8
7: McGahee, 18
8: Rice and McGahee, 9
9: Rice, 17
10: McGahee, 23
11: McClain, 10

No rhyme or reason whatsoever. I hate Baltimore.

9. Jake Delhomme

Two straight weeks. Two great matchups. Two stinkers.

10. This guy:

Pat (New York): I can't give you advice on your lady situation because I happen to be a very good-looking 25-year-old male who has never had a problem getting girls or managing to fall in the "friend zone." Love your column, by the way.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is wondering if all the Philip Rivers lovers are gonna write after this week. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings …

On a plane.

In about two hours, I'm on a plane to Washington to see my Redskins play on "Monday Night Football." Very, very excited. I don't get to go to live football games all that often because I work on Sundays, of course.

As a result of my travel, I'm going to offer 10 things I noticed from the early games. As always, for a comprehensive look at Week 9, be sure to read Eric Karabell's Instant Replay on Monday morning.

1. We've been waiting for this day.

Tim Hightower, starter. He rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown and, by the way, is owned in only 74 percent of leagues. Admittedly, his performance was against the Rams, but still. He now has eight touchdowns in seven games. He's not a fluke, and I absolutely love him. Can we officially change Edgerrin James' name to "toast"? He didn't get one carry.

In that same game, it was nice to see Torry Holt come back with a late touchdown, but I still would rather have Donnie Avery.

2. Whew.

I said on Sunday Countdown to sit Brett Favre. Barely more than 200 yards, an interception and no touchdowns later, Favre now has nine turnovers and only three touchdowns in his past four games. He does get St. Louis next week, but I'm not too excited about him on the road at New England in two weeks.

3. Ocho Dos?

Chad Johnson returned from the dead to score two touchdowns, and if I owned him I couldn't trade him fast enough. Even if you are "selling low" because somebody doesn't totally believe, I still would. He has a bye next week, then Philly, then Pittsburgh. The rest of Cincy's schedule is brutal.

4. Apparently, it was just LJ.

The Chiefs ran the ball and did so very well against the Bucs. First it was Kolby Smith (10 carries for 46 yards and a touchdown), and then, after he left with an injury, Jamaal Charles went nuts. Charles had 18 carries for 106 yards and got tough yards. He is available in 91 percent of ESPN.com leagues, by the way.

5. The dream turns to a nightmare. Or, ouch.

Kyle Orton and Matt Schaub left their respective games with injuries. Hopefully, both will be back very soon. If not, there are a lot of quarterbacks out there that I like more than Rex Grossman and Sage Rosenfels.

6. And those quarterbacks are?

I know it will feel weird clicking the button to make a pickup, and even weirder if you actually have to start one of these guys. But Dan Orlovsky is averaging 260 passing yards in his past three games and had 292 yards and two touchdowns on the road at the Bears on Sunday. Tyler Thigpen had another good game, too. He threw a touchdown pass and caught another (those tricky Chiefs!) a week after throwing for two scores. The Chiefs get the porous Chargers defense next week. I mentioned Gus Frerotte a few times in this space, and he didn't disappoint Sunday, throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Finally, Joe Flacco has at least 200 yards passing in three of his past four and gets Houston next week.

7. Guess the player.

He has three touchdowns in his past four games, and four in his past six. He is available in more than 50 percent of ESPN leagues. His name? Visanthe Shiancoe. It was nice to see Sidney Rice back, and Bernard Berrian continues to look fantastic.

8. Your guess is as good as mine.

I don't know what to tell you about the Baltimore running game. That's as honest as I can be. Just when you think someone's dead, he explodes. Ray Rice had 176 total yards (a week after a nice 64-yard game on eight carries), but Le'Ron McClain had the touchdown while Willis McGahee dressed and looked on (if only that were more frustrating). I honestly don't feel safe starting any Baltimore running back these days, but at least we know McClain will get goal-line carries.

9. Who? No, seriously, who?

What a weird day. More than any week I remember, it seemed like there were a lot of guys you never would have started getting touchdowns. It was one of those weeks when you just had to scratch your head after the following guys got into the end zone: Derek Fine, Grossman, Jason Wright, Thigpen, Jerheme Urban and David Anderson. Plus there was Mark Bradley, who threw a touchdown pass to a quarterback (the aforementioned Thigpen; those tricky Chiefs!).

10. Now that's what we call hot.

The past four weeks for Thomas Jones? He has scored five touchdowns, and the one game in that stretch when he failed to score he had 159 rushing yards. He was started in just 71 percent of leagues in Week 9. He gets St. Louis next week. Just saying.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines several well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

So I went to the first of my two planned Halloween parties this weekend, and I've never been a huge Halloween guy. You see, I'm not an arts-and-crafts guy, so I don't like to spend time making a costume, and I always feel dumb standing there in some bought costume. Frankly, if you don't have kids, Halloween is more about the girls' costumes. No one cares what the guys are wearing.

But I thought I would try to be clever for once … so I wore a Phillies jersey, an Obama pin and a Hannah Montana hat. I was "A Bandwagon Guy." I got a few people saying, "Oh, that's funny." But most people just looked at me and were like, "Yeah! Go Phillies!" Or they would say, "Boo, Phillies."

The takeaways? First, if you've ever been scared to wear a Hannah Montana hat in public, you should feel fairly safe in doing so. Folks don't notice.

And second, sometimes things are not what they seem at first glance. As for this past week in football? Some things were mirages, and some were, in fact, legit. Here are 10 things I noticed:

1. "Yeah, I'd say he's healthy."

Guys who were banged up coming into the week who looked good:

• LaDainian Tomlinson had 170 total yards and a score. He looked healthy again, and now he has a bye week to fully heal. He'll be the LT you drafted once the team returns to action.

• Anquan Boldin is a man among men. He played with more wires in his face than Wireman, a lame superhero costume I briefly considered, and finished with nine catches, 63 yards and two scores. The entire Arizona passing game was impressive in Carolina, a tough place to play. Larry Fitzgerald was his normal stud self with 115 yards, and Steve Breaston proved start-worthy, with nine catches for 91 yards. And Kurt Warner threw for almost 400 yards.

• Jerricho Cotchery had nine catches for 102 yards.

• Brian Westbrook continues to show that when he plays, fantasy owners should start him. Period. He had 209 total yards and two touchdowns.

And while they didn't do all that much, it was good to see Joey Galloway, Chris Chambers, Kevin Curtis and Marques Colston make appearances. (I know Colston was active last week, so save your e-mails, but at least he made it into the box score this week).

2. Remember when I was on his bandwagon? And then I jumped off? Can I jump back on?

Welcome to fantasy relevance, Ted Ginn Jr. Ginn had seven catches for 175 yards and looked like the guy I was pumping up in the preseason, not the guy I bailed on two weeks ago. Before you dismiss it as just one game, take a closer look: He's second in targets on the Dolphins coming into Sunday and has at least 40 receiving yards in three of his past four games. The next four opponents are Denver, Seattle, Oakland and New England, and none of them have good pass defenses. That's the other big reason I'm buying on him.

3. Don't look at the name, just the numbers.

Consider these stat lines from Weeks 5 through 7:

Quarterback A: 881 yards, four touchdowns
Quarterback B: 807 yards, four touchdowns

Quarterback A is Drew Brees. Quarterback B is Chad Pennington, who threw for more than 300 yards in Week 8, one week after he threw for 295. Again, look at the Dolphins' upcoming schedule. We've been talking about Pennington for a while, and this is why.

Speaking of quarterback pickups, Shaun Hill of the 49ers replaced J.T. O'Sullivan and could have value as a matchups play if they give him the starting job.

4. We're still waiting …

For Terrell Owens to be Terrell Owens. Sadly, I don't think you see it until Tony Romo comes back. And this is me, washing my hands of Torry Holt. I'm done. And part of the reason is …

5. Yeah, Donnie Avery! Yeah!

Avery had six receptions for 163 yards and a score, marking the third straight impressive week for him. And while Steven Jackson was a late scratch, I thought Antonio Pittman ran well. He looked solid, on the road, with 22 touches for 105 total yards. You'll see Pittman's name in this week's pickup column. Along with Jamaal Charles, who I keep harping about. Again, he was better than "starter" Kolby Smith; hopefully Charles' ankle injury isn't serious. And don't look now, but I thought Tyler Thigpen looked solid. Seriously. I actually think he could be OK.

6. Come on, seriously? Really?

In my longtime (15 years), 12-team keeper league in which you can keep 10 players a year (so there's very little turnover), I co-own a team with Chris Lindsay, my college roommate. We are 4-3. Today, we played a 1-6 team. Among the guys the 1-6 team had: Leon Washington, Devery Henderson, Anthony Fasano, Derek Anderson and Roddy White.

I had Washington as a deep sleeper this week, but come on. A 21-point fantasy day was beyond anything I expected. Only White should have been expected to do anything in that group. Isn't that the worst, when the worst team in the league has all its scrubs go off the week it is facing you? Aaaargh. I'm just amazed he didn't have Leonard Weaver on his team. And no, I'm not buying Weaver either. The 49ers looked lost.

By the way, if you were redrafting today, White would have to be a top-seven wide receiver. And one of the reasons?

7. I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

About Matt Ryan, who I didn't like on the road at Philly. He's a legit fantasy starter, regardless of matchup. He had 227 yards and two scores, and I'd rather have him the rest of the way than, say, Anderson or Jeff Garcia. Speaking of stuff I got wrong, I really thought Garcia would have a big day against that banged-up, porous Cowboys defense. Clearly Wade Phillips taking over the defensive play calling had a good effect.

I can't decide whether to be happy or sad that I was wrong about Cedric Benson, who ended up with 69 total yards, short of the 100 yards I bet Eric Karabell he would get. Either way, I can resume my hatred of him.

Other stuff I was wrong about (mostly in my Week 8 Love/Hate):

Justin (Boston): TMR, you've crossed the line this time. Goldie Hawn is a national treasure.

Ian C. (South Wales, U.K.): Fair enough, your comments about last year's London Mud Bowl were spot on, but I'm pretty sure Dame Edna Everage is Australian, not British, so don't blame us for everything.

Gordon (U.S. in London): Burger King is a British company. Shoulda gone with McDonald's.

8. So much for that.

New England's Heath Evans did nothing, and neither did BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who had nine carries for only 16 yards. Antonio Bryant came down to earth with only 46 yards (but does get seven receptions), and just when I was starting to come around on the Bengals' wideouts and Trent Edwards, they laid an egg. Blech!

9. How about a raised eyebrow?

I'm not totally worried about these guys, but I do have a raised eyebrow: Earnest Graham (continued his streak of not scoring on the road this season), Michael Turner (continued his streak of inconsistency), Jonathan Stewart (continued to be outplayed by DeAngelo Williams), Ronnie Brown (continued to not find room when the "Wildcat offense" is stopped), Isaac Bruce, Darren McFadden (scratched for health reasons) and Julius Jones.

10. But look on the bright side …

Yes, Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor did nothing. But David Garrard is finally living up to preseason hype, Matt Jones continues to play well, and the Jaguars play the Bengals and Lions in their next two games. Buy low.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is finishing a day of watching and writing about football by doing his SimmonBerry (hoops) Auction. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend

Posted by Matthew Berry

Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings from Sunday's games

Fantasy football is a game of numbers. Well, here are a handful of 'em from Sunday's games.

By the numbers

31: Number of fantasy points Donnie Avery of the Rams should have had. One score got called back because of a penalty, and Marc Bulger overthrew a wide-open Avery on another. More numbers for Avery: five catches, 65 yards and one score Sunday, 30 fantasy points in his past three weeks, two previous column mentions by me (Tuesday's pickups column and Thursday's Love/Hate) and two very beatable secondaries (the Patriots' and the Cardinals') in the next two weeks.

2: Number of times today I made a "Jim Haslett is the Dale Sveum of the NFL" joke.

0: Number of laughs I got following those jokes.

210: Number of entries, at last count, on the ESPN Conversation pages of the aforementioned Love/Hate column that talked about, among other things, how much I hated the Cowboys.

74: Number of comments that insulted me and defended the Cowboys.

0: Number of Cowboys fans talking now.

2.5: Number of minutes I want the apology from Bill Simmons to last for knocking the Rams and my predictions on them, especially Steven Jackson, in the previous two B.S. Reports (podcasts) I did with Simmons. Jackson now has 475 total yards and four touchdowns over his past three games. Incidentally, Bill and I are recording a new podcast Monday afternoon to announce winners of "The Man's" basketball league that we are playing in with listeners. (Remember, you can play fantasy basketball for free, with free live scoring and auction capabilities on ESPN.com.)

3: Number of consecutive weeks Bernard Berrian has scored.

5: Number of touchdown passes Kyle Orton should have had. Marty Booker dropped two sure scores, and stupid Desmond Clark fumbled just before the goal line on another (Rashied Davis recovered for the touchdown).

2: Number of guys you care about who left with injuries today. Devin Hester injured a quad muscle (that's why Booker was given so many chances), and Reggie Bush tore the meniscus in his left knee and is headed for arthroscopic surgery. He likely will miss three to four weeks.

77: Ownership percentage for Deuce McAllister.

14: Ownership percentage for Pierre Thomas. One of those two will replace Bush.

0: Number of touchdowns thrown by Drew Brees in Week 7, and number of catches by Marques Colston. Colston was active; you just wouldn't know it from the box score.

5: Number of games (among the six he has played in) Trent Edwards has finished.

5: Number of weeks Trent Edwards has had between 197 and 279 passing yards and exactly one touchdown.

22: Number of fantasy points by LaDainian Tomlinson over the past three weeks. Today he had another disappointing game, with 20 touches for 67 yards.

3: Number of games, among the past four, in which Philip Rivers has had 12 or fewer fantasy points.

2: Number of times I've tuned into a major sporting event in the past two days, only to find out that technical difficulties were interfering.

134: Total number of yards by Mewelde Moore, and he scored three touchdowns. Um, yeah, he had a good day.

1,000,000: Number of times it seemed that I looked up and saw Ryan Fitzpatrick get sacked.

7: Actual number of sacks by the Steelers on Sunday.

62: Total number of yards by Cedric Benson on 15 touches. He actually looked good against a tough run defense. He also got the start over Chris Perry.

8: Number of receptions each by T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson. There are actually signs of life in Cincy. I thought Fitzpatrick looked OK at times, and both receivers are decent buy-low options.

41: Number of times I disgustedly shook my head while LenDale White was going nuts. White rushed 17 times for 149 yards. Fellow back Chris Johnson rushed 18 times for 168 yards. Johnson had "only" one touchdown; White had three. Yeah, the Chiefs are not so good.

1: Number of quarterbacks who had more passing yards than Chad Pennington in the early games. Pennington finished with 295 yards.

15: Average number of fantasy points per week that Pennington has had since his Week 4 bye.

20: Number of yards Kolby Smith had on 10 carries.

17: Number of yards Jamaal Charles had on three carries.

3: Number of quarterbacks the Chiefs used today. Didn't matter, though. Dwayne Bowe (seven catches, 86 yards) and Tony Gonzalez (six for 97) were still very solid against a good Titans defense.

3: Number of times in the past five weeks Terrell Owens has had three or fewer fantasy points.

21: Number of touches Willis McGahee got Sunday. He had 153 total yards and a score.

13: Number of combined touches for Ray Rice and Le'Ron McClain -- for just 30 total yards.

14,635: Estimated number of e-mails/comments I have received asking when I am going to admit I was wrong in saying Frank Gore should not be a first-round pick this year.

14,635: Number of times I have said, "Let's wait till the end of the year."

1: Number of touchdowns Frank Gore has had in the past four weeks. His best games have come against bad teams.

11: Number of rushing yards Frank Gore had in Week 7. Now, if you want to talk about my being wrong, how about Jerricho Cotchery? I loved him in the preseason, and he was terrible again today. Sigh. He's no longer start-worthy, even in leagues that start three receivers.

6: Number of crazy chick/dating stories I was going to tell today but have decided not to (for multiple reasons).

141: Number of points (fellow ESPN.com writer) Christopher Harris put up against me in our internal ESPN league of editors and writers. He had Clinton Portis, Brandon Jacobs, Chris Johnson and Andre Johnson. … He even got 17 points from stupid Dan Orlovsky. I had Steve Slaton, Matt Forte and not much else. Thanks, Braylon Edwards and Reggie Wayne, among others. It's a point-per-reception league, and Chris had the highest-scoring team in the league this week. I got rolled to fall to 3-3-1. Chris goes to 4-3.

98: Number of total yards Jamal Lewis had on the road (at Washington) against a good run defense.

8: Number of times I pumped my fist and said, "Whew!" when Ryan Grant eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark this week after I guaranteed it in my Love/Hate.

11: Number of receiving yards Marvin Harrison had this week.

1: Number of touchdown passes JaMarcus Russell had. That's one more than Brees, Peyton Manning and Brett Favre had.

154: Number of yards Calvin Johnson had.

3: Number of games among the past five in which Peyton Manning has had two interceptions.

5: Number of teams I have that could win if Sammy Morris goes off Monday night.

1,200: The "short and sweet" number of words (approximately) in this column.

Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- could also use a nice game from Wes Welker. He is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines a bunch of well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend