Evans World 2012 – Week 14

Well, the first week of the playoffs have come and gone.  If you’re like me you sat there watching the NFL games without any sort of preference or perhaps even a care as to who won or who did well.  For Mindi and me it was weird, weird, weird to watch the games not caring a lick whether our players were doing well or not.  Definitely one thing about a 10-team league and a 3-week playoff, the off week is just out of the ordinary.  I hope you’re enjoying watching the insanity that is the NFL today and trying to figure out who will make it to the Super Bowl.  It was a weekend of few matchups so this will be a brief blog.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

• Congrats to Gary and Mike who will move on to the next week of playoffs in the hopes of knocking off the two top seeds.  I, for one, think they both have a really good chance to do it. 
• I can’t be happy enough for Gary.  So many years he’s had to put up with disappointment in his teams via injury or ineptitude.  His patience and ever-developing FF skills are finally paying off.  Like I said, Gary, I’m rooting for you to go all the way.
• Speaking of ineptitude, let’s talk about Marshall’s team.  They really let him down this week.  I thought his lineup was solid and any other week of the season might have produced the 100+ points he needed.  Alas, the Saints had a second week of failure and that dragged his team down into the loss.  I feel for you, Marshall.  Hell, I think we all can.
• So here I am bugging Berk for weeks to start Rudolph.  I was convinced he’d have a day against the Bears, especially now that Percy Harvin is out.  Berk made the right call and benched him.  Did he know?  I have suspected that he’s always had the inside track into the Vikings’ performances for the past few years.  I think this clinches it.  You know things you shouldn’t, Berk.  It’s freaking us out.
• In case you didn’t notice, the consolation bracket and matchups start this week.  Be sure to set your lineups … heh … yeah, I couldn’t get that out with a straight face.  Hey, do what you want to.  I don’t keep track of who comes in 8th place every season.
• Brandon Jacobs is an idiot.  He wins a Super Bowl, then bolts for the team that will likely win it again.  Then he gets injured and doesn’t perform up to snuff, so he gets benched for players that can, you know, actually run on the field.  And then he has the gall to go out publically and call out the 49ers for not playing him?  He’s earned that suspension.  He’ll be happily cut from the team at the end of the season.  I doubt anyone but the hopelessly desperate teams will even give him a call now. 
• Perhaps just as dumb is the notion that kickoffs should be eliminated from games.  That’s like taking penalty kicks away from soccer.  It’s nuts.  There are many aspects to the game of football, each requiring their own plans and players to implement properly.  It makes the game fun, challenging and exciting.  Anyone who has seen Devin Hester, Dante Hall or even Joshua Cribbs (tip of the hat to you, Marshall) return kicks for TD’s knows what I’m talking about.  Yes, players are out there on the field typically in an undefended position to get leveled by another man twice his size.  That’s where skill and, dare I say it, equipment come to play.  But also the rules.  Restore the halo rule.  Suspend, fine and fire players who violate rules regarding the safety of players in kick returns.  Adjust the game to the modern level of play football players are bringing.  Don’t change the game and take out one of the most exciting parts of the game.  I know it won’t happen, but the fact it’s getting as much press as it is (including this blog) just makes me laugh.
• I would have understood if Johnny Manziel wasn’t given the Heisman this year, but you’ve got to admit he earned it.  I can see him playing in the NFL in two years, probably for someone like San Diego or Tampa Bay or Buffalo and becoming the face of the franchise.

WEEKLY AWARDS

• MVP – Gary has made it farther into the postseason than ever before by trusting in one thing: lean on Eli Manning.  Two years ago, that was as good an FF idea as starting Colt McCoy.  You never knew if it was TD or INT-tossing Eli week.  In the past two seasons he has improved his FF game to the point where he is a must start.  Handcuffing Eli to Cruz just sweetened the deal for Gary, probably even better than he’d hoped after the draft.  You can’t argue with success.  Great work this whole season setting your weekly lineups, Gary.
• Honorable Mention – Well, with only two matchups it stands to reason that I should give an award to Mike for winning.  Looking at his lineup it’s hard to choose one player that made a difference more than the others.  Certainly I could give it to Josh Freeman and Vincent Jackson for mirroring the success that Gary has had, but instead I’ll give it to Jamaal Charles who despite being on a team with no identity, leadership, coaching or drive, he still manages to go out every game and run angry and run for the win.  It may not translate into wins at the end of the day, but it does add up for FF owners, and Mike is certainly happy for that.
• Best Owner Choice – Like I said, Mike had many gems on his team this week.  But easily the award this week goes to Mike for astutely recognizing not only the improvement of the Browns DEF, but also their almost guaranteed success against the hapless Chiefs (sorry Gary).  It was a great call and paid off huge.  Mike usually isn’t the one to swap DEF often in a season (at least as far as I can recall, that was always Nathan), but this week he made a great call.  Nice job.
• Unfortunate Bench – It’s pretty clear that no matter who from their bench they’d started, neither Berk nor Marshall had any chance of winning their matchups.  I could say that Morris was a better flex choice for Berk, or starting Romo over Brees for Marshall, but that’d just be wrong.  So, no award this week.
• Lawrence Philips Award – Lawrence Philips was a classic fuckup who managed to take a successful NFL career and flush it down the toilet.  The only saving grace was that he didn’t take anyone down with him.  I wish the same could be said of Josh Brent.  He will no doubt spend many years in prison, but the tragedy of his life is set in stone by killing his friend and teammate while driving drunk.  I cannot imagine such a hell, for him, Brown’s family or the Cowboys team.  Say what you will about LP, he never did anything like this.  I know Brent will be beating himself for this for the rest of his life.  Giving him an LPA award won’t even scratch the surface.  What is perhaps sadder is the NFL players who have spoken out and said this happens all the time (the driving drunk, not killing people while driving drunk).  I think it’s sad that our NFL players forget that they are, whether they like it or not, celebrities and thus are held to higher standards than everyday folks.  You’re not allowed to bend or break the rules, even if you have the money to do so.  And you are to live your lives in the manner that is to be emulated by your fans.  They forget this, remembering only how much fun it is to get drunk and be stupid.  I think Adam Jones is the perfect example of how a player can change and remember those key details in the right way.  If nothing else it will keep you out of the California or Texas prison system and scar your legacy.

PREDICTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

• I think the matchup between Tony P. and Mike will not be as high-scoring as Yahoo! projects.  I think it will be the lowest point total for Tony P. all season.  Will it be enough to beat Mike?  I think so.  I see players like Green, Lynch and Akers making the difference and sending Mike down for a shot at 3rd place.
• I love the matchup between Nathan and Gary.  It’s going to be a great one, if not a close one.  It’d be funny if we have to wait to see how Tennessee plays on Monday night to determine the winner (who would think we’d ever say that?).  In the end I think it will come down to how well the Saints bounce back against the Bucs.  If they’re in a slump and their FF points continue to drop, it will be the best chance that Gary has to beat Nathan.  If they surge, I think Gary doesn’t have enough juice in his players to get it done.  I’m still rooting for you, Gary, but I think you need a lot of things to go your way this week to beat Nathan.
• Berk vs. Marshall.  Zzzz.  I’m rooting for Marshall because he isn’t a Vikings fan.

Have a great weekend everyone.  If you haven’t already please mail me your dues check!