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2010 Fantasy Sleeper – Devin Aromashodu

Aug 25

Posted by Bob Noyes in Fantasy Football | No Comments

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Knox and Hester are the buzz, but Aromashodu will be a good late pick in most fantasy drafts

Knox and Hester are the buzz, but Aromashodu will be a good late pick in most fantasy drafts

Oh, it’s an easy sleeper pick.  The Bears move to Mike Martz on offense and BAM – suddenly the media expects good things from a receiving corps they’ve bad-mouthed for years.  WRs Hester and Knox have been hyped to fit the offense spectacularly due to their speed and will likely be drafted a bit too high in some fantasy leagues.  My money is on Aromashodu.  He’s big and athletic, the type of receiver that will go up and grab an errant pass from QB Jay Cutler – which is why he became a late-season favorite last year.  Aromashodu should be drafted somewhere near round 10 (or later – a good waiver wire pick up), and has been projected by the experts to nab near one hundred fantasy points for the season.  Sure that’s nothing to write home about, but someone you may want for bye week starts and handcuffing opponents.

The Bears WRs will be the experts and analysts’ favorites for fantasy sleepers and supposedly under-the-radar stars in 2010 – just make sure you get the right one.

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WEEK 13: UPSETS IN THE KEY OF “EFF”, or, HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BEARS

Dec 6

Posted by Nick Thomas, NFC North resident in Armchair QB | Comments off

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Week 13 produced some crazy bleepin’ games this weekend, perhaps the most of which being Oakland at Pittsburgh, which ended in a stunning upset of the Steelers at home.  Ben Roethlisberger returned to the lineup and threw a decent game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Troy Polamalu’s absence in the defensive secondary.

Without the Samoan safety, the Steelers let Bruce Gradkowski pick them apart on his way to a game-winning TD pass with :09 left to play, as well as supplying all kinds of “the last time” stats in regards to the Raiders.  Of course, almost any Raider win is going to be chock full of “the last time” stats, including “the last time” they won a game.

ben roethlisberger. online photo, no source available

But this particular game included 5 lead changes in the 4th quarter, even though Pittsburgh was only 2-5 in the red zone.  It’s hard to imagine that the final period went down like that and the Steelers didn’t win.  That’s 4 in a row, now including losses to the Chefs and the Raiders in that stretch.

Another crazy game was New Orleans and the R*dsk*ns, with New Orleans winning a game they never led in until the final gun sounded in OT.  It was playing like a classic trap game for the Saints – big win in the previous week against a high-profile opponent, and then playing down to a lesser opponent on the road.  Then the 4th quarter happened.  Washington missed a chip-shot with less than two minutes to play that would have put them up by ten, and it was all downhill from there.  Depending on your allegiances, it was either a complete meltdown by the ‘Sk*ns or a heroic comeback by New Orleans.  Saints coach Sean Payton seemed determined to punish the D.C. Football Franchise by sending his offense back onto the field after “icing” timeouts directed at their kicker.

The Saints had been set up for a FG attempt with 7 seconds left by an interception thrown by D.C., when Jim Zorn tried the classic “Ice the Kicker” routine, to which Payton responded by putting Drew Brees back out there to try to pick up more yards.  It didn’t work – Brees threw incomplete and the Saints missed a 55-yarder that put the game into overtime.

saints kicker. online photo, no source available

In OT, Zorn again tried to “Ice the Kicker” by calling a timeout that was so close the officials’ whistle didn’t even come before the snap.  Instead of attempting a 33-yarder that wasn’t a sure thing, Payton marched his offense back onto the field, which promptly ran the ball down to the one-inch line.  As if that wasn’t bad enough, Zorn again called a timeout before the chip-shot attemot from the 1, which of course didn’t work.

The Saints karmically kicked the game-winner, and I pronounced that if I were Sean Payton, I would have greeted Zorn at midfield with either a loogie-lubed handshake, or simply Happy-Gilmored his ass by shaking with the left, pulling his jacket over his head from behind with the right and then punching his teeth out with his arms defenselessly pinned down by his shirt.  What a punk.  I guess it’s not enough that your team has a blatantly racist and offensive mascot, you gotta play like a dick too.

Capping off the Week 13 Wackiness was Miami beating New England and New York beating Dallas. The latter game really isn’t a shock, but the Patriots losing kinda was.  Or was it?

Mike Florio pontificated of the fishy line movement on this game right before kickoff, wondering why exactly the spread had moved from favoring the Pats by 6.5 at the start of the week to a push in most books by kickoff.  It was pretty strange, and the speculation was that Brady was not playing and insiders had the info that the league and media didn’t.  That turned out not to be the case, but the public was correct in some fashion, betting heavy on the Dolphins to beat the spread and Miami ended up winning outright.  Hmm.

BEARS HOMER SECTION

Is this really even worth it?  Yep, Chicago beat St, Louis today, with our $50,000,000.00 QB completing all of 8 passes for 143 yards.  Matt Forte, lead rusher for the NFL’s dead-last running attack, was able to muster 91 yards against the NFL’s dead-last running defense.  Way to go, boys!

Ted Phillips. online photo, no source available
Team President Ted Phillips, thoroughly enjoying this tripe

The Monsters of the Midway rip-roared their way to an anemic 248 total yards of offensive production, and I no longer have the energy or patience to even rip this pathetic squad, let alone try to spin a victory against a crap team into something Bears fans should care about.  The only thing I will say is that this team’s 3 victories that have happened since the long-ago month of September have come against Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis.  In those 3 victories, Jay “$50,000,000.00 Extension” Cutler has averaged 169.2 yards a game.  Whoo-motherf*ckin’-hoo.

cutler and hester. online photo, no source available

I will however say this: in 6 weeks, when my team is packing up their belongings and going off to their Hawaiian or Jamaican villas for the month of January, I will be pissed that my season is finished.  With only 4 games left for my Bears’ season, I must appreciate the fact that I am a fan, and have something to do on Sundays instead wait to go to bed.

If I may finish with one final statement for this week, it is “Go Cardinals!”

Email: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com

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Jay Cutler and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Nov 12

Posted by Nick Thomas, NFC North resident in Armchair QB | Comments off

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Poor Jay. On a night when his defense finally showed up against an opponent who had been taunting them all week with boasts to “destroy” them, Jay was the one to crap himself repeatedly. 5 times, to be exact. Zero touchdowns, five interceptions. The game left him with 17 interceptions through 9 games.

Jay Cutler. online photo, no source available
Finding good pictures of Cutler is really easy, especially when he throws 5 interceptions.

It’s funny that this game was on the NFL Network, because there will inevitably be a few remaining Cutler apologists out there who weren’t able to see the game or DVR it, and they will take a look at the box score tomorrow and build their case for Cutler’s defense:

He completed 29 passes for over 300 yards. They made him throw 52 times because the run game is terrible. His protection was likely suspect, so he was probably on the run and his receivers effed up.

In a different game, these arguments may be valid. But those who watched the game would know that 4 of Cutler’s picks were no else’s but his own, and that he should have thrown another one. Cutler’s 2nd pick was the result of Devin Hester losing his footing and missing an otherwise well-thrown pass. But in Cutler’s other 4 interceptions, and particularly the two inside the red zone, he had clear throwing lanes in front of him and/or good protection. On one INT he was kind of caught up in traffic and he flipped a clumsy shovel pass to Forte, who couldn’t reach it, but Cutler wasn’t hit on the play and would have been much better off either running or taking a sack if he had to.

Jay Cutler. online photo, no source available

Each of his two interceptions from inside the 49er 10-yard line were after long drives by the offense, and they were both remarkably bad throws. Cutler tried to argue that his 4th interception should have been interference because his huge 3rd-string tight end Kellen Davis was somehow knocked on his ass by a safety half his size before the ball was caught, which is true. But the safety was playing the ball all the way, and he had just as much right to it as Davis did.

Of course, the ultimate Cutler apologist’s talking point has no place here either, which is that in every multiple-pick game this year (except for Week 1, which was an abberration. Cough), Cutler has had to throw wildly because they were down so many points. Nope. Chicago never trailed by more than 4 after the first quarter in this one.

It was a spectacular meltdown, and after all that, he has to fly back to Chicago and talk to all those mean newspaper reporters who ask him stupid questions.

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CUTLER vs. ORTON: CHICAGO GOT SWINDLED

Oct 21

Posted by Nick Thomas, NFC North resident in Armchair QB | Comments off

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Sooo, Chicago’s Jay Cutler signed a 2-year contract extension today, loaded with $30 million in new money and $20 million guaranteed.  This seems like an appropriate time to analyze how Cutler stacks up with his trade-bait counterpart in Denver, Kyle Orton.

 

Full disclosure, I fully admit bias – I’ll give you my Bears tickets if you can find one person who says I was on board with the trade back in April.  I knew Cutler could play, and I also knew I’d hated him since college.  I knew there was a reason that a lot of other pros just didn’t like him.  It wasn’t just limited to San Diego where Cutler was strongly disliked.

 

Jay Cutler. online photo, no source available

Jay Cutler: “I’m warning you, I’m pretty much a total pr*ck”

 

I could go on, but it’s pointless.  He’s the Bears’ QB and I’ve got to root for a guy I don’t like, it’s that simple.

 

Who I did like before the trade was Kyle Orton.  I liked rooting for him, even though his numbers weren’t top-shelf.  I thought that when Orton was given a set of options in a situation, chances were that he was going to make the right decision.

 

It’s how he turned the Bears’ doomed 2005 season into a playoff run his rookie year.  Lest ye Bears fans hath forgotten that year, starter Rex Grossman broke his ankle in the 2nd preseason game in St. Louis.  Grossman’s backup, Chad Hutchinson, played so terribly in the next two preseason games that he was cut prior to week one.  That left the Bears no choice but to turn to the 4th-round rookie from Purdue, Kyle Orton – who, after starting 2-3 (only a game worse than the Bears are today), he engineered an 8-game winning streak, before being thanklessly benched at halftime of a home game against Atlanta in December, a game he surely could have won if he’d made it past halftime.

 

Kyle Orton. online photo, no sirce available

Kyle Orton, wondering why he got the boot twice in Chicago with a 21-12 record.

 

But Lovie Smith and GM Jerry Angelo saw an opportunity to showcase their QB with a big arm, who they’d saved a roster spot for all year instead of putting him on injured reserve.  Instead of rewarding Orton for saving their season and their asses, they shoved a clipboard in his hands and put in Rex, who played in more regular-season game and then got pounded in the playoffs by the Carolina Panthers.  It squandered the home-field advantage and the 11-5 record that the rookie built for him.

 

Angelo and Smith decided that it was time to ditch Kyle again after the 2008 season, trading Orton, 2 first-round picks and a third rounder to Denver for the big-guns Cutler.  It’s what Chicago fans wanted.  There were no vigils for Kyle Orton; Chicago couldn’t wait to embrace it’s new melo-drama QB.

 

It just so happens that the Bears signed Cutler to this extension after 5 games, which is ironic, when you look at the last time that Chicago had a legit offense, even though I still hesitate to even use that word now. The last time would be the first 5 games of 2006, before that fateful night in Arizona.  Before the Monday Night Miracle performed by the Chicago defense in Week 6, the Grossman-led offense was unstoppable.  Grossman was never the same after that night (0 TD, 4 INT), and hasn’t matched that stretch since.  Here’s some numbers to crunch:

 

KYLE ORTON 2009

6-0 record, 100.1 passer rating, 244 yards a game and 9 TD’s with 1 INT.

 


JAY CUTLER 2009

3-2 record, 86.9 passer rating, 240 yards a game and 10 TD’s with 7 INT’s.

 


REX GROSSMAN 2006 (through first 5 games)

5-0 record, 102.6 passer rating, 248 yards a game and 10 TD’s with 3 INT’s.

 

Can you imagine if Grossman was signed to an extension after Week 5?  Me neither.  Thank the Good Lord.

 


 

My point is that as it stands right now, the Bears got grifted in the trade for Cutler.  While Denver uses Chicago’s surprisingly high 1st round draft pick next season and the Bears are left with huge holes on the offensive line and linebacking unit, Josh McDaniels will laugh as he solidifies his squad for years to come with multiple 1st-round selections.

 


To their credit, the Bears got to eat up much of the guaranteed value of the deal with the cap space they have available this season, so it is a mutually beneficial deal for both parties.  But the real motivation behind the signing was that Angelo wasn’t going to give up what he traded for Cutler and let him reach free agency, where he’d either have to overpay him or let him go after two years, which isn’t an option.

 


The fact that Cutler even complied scares me.  I’ve seen enough Bears play their asses off until they get their first big contract, then hit the brakes in just about every way imaginable.  I do believe in Cutler’s competitiveness, but can he find that fire after pocketing a $12 Million signing bonus?  Was he too easily swayed into getting his value now instead of waiting until after the season, when the true sociopathic narcissist would assume that they had been brilliant and worth more?

 


Denver got a cerebral team guy who doesn’t have Cutler’s cannon or mobility (or ego), but they’re undefeated and Chicago is two games back in their division.  I think the Bears can even with the Vikings before season’s end, but the Broncos don’t look to be slowing down after taking out New England two weeks ago and winning a tough division road game in the 4th quarter in San Diego.

 


 

Meanwhile, Chicago newspaper reporters are one more multiple-interception performance away from baiting Jay Cutler into a public meltdown so they can rip his play and his personality at the same time.  They lost a heartbreaker in Atlanta for the second year in a row and the natives are restless.  The running game is being crucified, and Cutler is next because the defense will ultimately get a pass for Urlacher going down Week 1.

 


If the Bears don’t win in Cincinnati this Sunday, Chicago will turn on Jay Cutler.  This is the town that forced Rex Grossman to the bench a mere two games after he started in the Super Bowl.  Don’t think Cutler and his facial expressions will last long, especially if Orton keeps outplaying him in Denver.

 


Lovie Smith, Jerry Angelo, and offensive coordinator Ron Turner all pretty much have their jobs wrapped up in Cutler’s success, and while I don’t want to see Lovie Smith be let go, he should be if Chicago misses the playoffs.  They all should be.  And then let some other regime come in and try changing Jay’s diapers.

 

contact email: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com

 

 

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NFL WEEK 4: A LESSON IN CRAPTASTIC-NESS

Oct 4

Posted by Nick Thomas, NFC North resident in Armchair QB | Comments off

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I sat and watched most of the 14 minute-plus overtime period between the Bengals and the Browns.  I don’t know why.  I guess I was looking for one of the two teams to show that they were interested in winning the game.  It was one of those stretches when the field looked enormous and it simply seemed impossible that either team could score.  I was almost right, if it wasn’t for Cleveland finally deciding to be crappy enough to go ahead and lose.  One thing I will say though, is that Josh Cribbs is a flat-out monster.  He’s gotten a lot bigger since his rookie season, and plain looks mean when he has the ball.  He’s at least worth watching the highlights every week.

 

Speaking of crappy teams, the R*dsk*ns and the Bucs battled it out to see who could claim to be the crappiest team on the East Coast.  Turns out it’s the Bucs.  Though not for a lack of effort by Washington, who committed four turnovers and still won the game.  ‘Sk*ns QB Jason Campbell was astoundingly bad, throwing 3 picks and losing a fumble, but still knifed through the (now officially garbage) defense of Tampa Bay to throw the winning TD pass.  The two teams combined for a combined 6 of 27 on 3rd down, and a whopping 252 passing yards.  Blecch.

 

Amazingly, neither of these teams are the worst in the league. That distinction belongs solely to the St. Louis Rams, who have lost 14 straight, and have been shutout twice in this young season, both times by teams in their own division.  I need not say more of the St. Louis club, nor much of the teams that destroy them each week – although I must call attention to the disciplinary prowess of Mike Singletary’s 49ers, who only drew 3 flags all game and committed no turnovers while gut-stomping the Rams 35-0.

 

Dallas and Denver both looked inept, combining for 6 of 26 on 3rd down, as well as a combined 17 penalties for over 150 yards.  Lucky for Denver, Tony Romo looked worse than anyone on the field. While his stats aren’t outrageously bad, his performance was unwatchable – unless you hate the Cowboys, which I do.  Before WR Sam Hurd damn near bailed him out in the 4th quarter on a sissy little 7-yard outlet pass that Hurd took 53 yards inside the Denver 15, Romo had made every mistake possible:  botched snaps, lost fumbles, his 8th-career pick in the red zone, leading his receivers into getting drilled by safeties (Roy Williams may be urinating blood after chasing a Romo misfire in the 4th quarter), and all-around poor decision making.  Up until Hurd’s late catch-and-run, Romo had 36 yards passing in the 2nd half, and had been throwing terrible balls for several series in a row.

 

tony romo gets sacked. online photo, no source available

 

I thought that Dallas would expose Denver’s defense as a hoax, but it was Denver who exposed Romo’s Cowboys as garbage.  Wait, hasn’t that happened already?  On several occasions?  Oh, I forgot – they’re the Cowboys.  That means they’re still considered good until Bill Parcells says that they in fact suck.

 

 

OTHER CALLS I GOT WRONG:

Ravens at Patriots: A very well-played, hard-fought game until the last drive, when Baltimore WR Mark Clayton dropped two passes, one for a TD and one for a first down on 4th and 6, which ended the game.  The latter was in his chest, but he couldn’t haul it in.  Disappointing for a Ravens team who played well enough to beat the Patriots.

 

Jets at Saints: Okay, now I really mean it:  I won’t be picking against the Saints again.  Before you dismiss the Jets though, note that the NY defense did it’s part, holding New Orleans to less than 350 total yards and only 10 points.  The Saint’s D made up for it, scoring two TD’s.  Tough game for the adorable and charming Mark Sanchez (if you say his name out loud with emphasis on the ‘chez’, he sounds even more charming).

 

Bills at Dolphins: Backup Miami QB Chad Henne wasn’t required to do much, as the Dolphin twin RB’s Ronnie and Ricky piled up 200 yards and 3 TD’s.  Buffalo QB Trent Edwards did his part too, throwing 3 picks.  Dick Jauron’s clock is ticking in upstate New York.

 

Tennessee at Jacksonville: Wow, the Titans are about finished already, and it’s not even week 5.  This slump is a mystery to me, and I can’t imagine how Titans coach Jeff Fisher feels.  He has consistently fielded a tough, balanced, competitive team since he became head coach, and this thing has now spun out of control.  The playoffs are out of the question, the Titans are now relegated to just trying to win a game.

 

 

BEARS HOMER SECTION

Another win, another grumpy homer.  The Bears let Detroit rack up 21 points in the first half, and 3rd-and-long is again looking like a gimme against the Chicago defense.  They give up two 3rd-and-5’s, two 3rd-and-6’s, as well as 3rd downs of 7, 9, and 10 yards, the last of which yielded a touchdown.

 

Yes, the Bears came on strong in the 2nd half, but how does Lovie Smith leave Zackary Bowman, a 2nd-year corner with about 5 games under his belt, one-on-one with Calvin Johnson for the entire first half?  On the first play from scrimmage, Lovie brought the house and watched as rookie QB Matt Stafford calmly faced down the blitz and dropped the ball perfectly into Johnson’s basket for 45 yards.  As if that wasn’t enough, Lovie then let Johnson continue to roam unchallenged for 123 first-half yards.  Hey Mr. Smith – the Lions have one good receiver, how about you pay him the respect of a double team before he lights you up single-handedly?

 

On top of that, the Bears left the stadium limping.  Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, and special-teams ace Adrian Peterson all were knocked to the sideline.  Knox was dinged after he had an impressive 102-yard kickoff return for a score to open the 2nd half. Thank the Lord for the coming Bye Week, the Bears need it.

 

Jay Cutler. online photo, no source available.

 

Some positives were there, like Adewale Ogunleye’s dominating performance, Matt Forte’s big day (although it was almost all on two runs), and a big-time turnaround in the 2nd half in all three phases of the game. Looking better, but I still think they’d get beat down by an elite team, one of which likely resides in the division. We’ll certainly know more about that after a highly-anticipated matchup tomorrow night.

 

contact email: nick.thomas@flyingpigskin.com

 

 

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