Pyle of List

Every Monday, our very own DLamp will be taking a look at what just happened the day before in the NFL, and looking ahead to the Monday night game(s).

Yikes. Most Sundays football is all I care about. I sit on my couch watching each and every play. I have a laptop in front of me tracking fantasy teams and games that are not on in my market.

And some Sundays I get so wasted that I have no idea what was going in in the NFL.

Yesterday was one of those Sundays.

It started off so innocently. A couple drinks during the first half of the Packers/Steelers game, some snacks and stuff…and then it all went horribly awry.

I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but at some point I just got too drunk to care about the Dallas/Atlanta game. So I just sat on a recliner on the balcony of the house I was at. I didn’t even get to experience the drama of the Saints falling behind then rallying for the win. I was asleep on the couch/bathroom floor while the Cards upset the Giants.  I missed all the excitement.

And I wouldn’t change a thing about it!

Wait, Alex Smith is still in the league?!

That was my reaction after checking the San Fran box score this morning. He’s still in the league? And the actually let him play? Like in a game, not just practice?! Wow. And he actually played pretty well (15 for 22, 206 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT) in releif if Shaun Hill. I’ve always felt like Smith got kind of a raw deal. He was never good enough to be #1 overall, but his draft class was so weak at that position, he kind of just became the #1 by default. Really, the honus is on the Niners for feeling like they HAD to take a QB with the #1 overall, even though the talent didn’t justify it. That seems to be a bit of a pattern in the bay area…

Wasn’t I right about the Saints?

At least as it compares to the Vikings, yeah, I was. Both of them faced good competition Sunday, and the Saints were the ones to remain undefeated. It’s great for them to see that even on days when Brees isn’t perfect (3 INTs, 1 fumble lost) they can grind out a tough win against a physical opponent. Miami has such a strong rushing attack, and Henne looks like a pretty good option under center, that they are going to be real competitors real soon. Minnesota, on the other hand, got that win streak snapped by the Steelers. Some late Favre mistakes really cost them here. How come analysts always talk about the 1 to 2 extra wins Favre brings for a franchise, but never the 1 to 2 losses that he does as well? Listen, I’m not saying he’s no better than Tavaris Jackson, I’m just saying he’s not as good as everyone is making him out to be this year.

Does anyone want to win the NFC East?

Probably, but they sure aren’t running away with anything. After the first four weeks, I think I had settled on the Giants winning that division with the Eagles earning a Wildcard berth. Now, I have no idea what’s going to happen. Perhaps I shouldn’t try to decide the divisions after week 4. Whatever, what do you know? After the Giants fell to the Cardinals in the Kurt Warner Revenge Spectacular, there are three teams sitting there with 2 losses. Even Dallas is back in the picture. Dallas! It looks like this one might be a dogfight to see who wins the division.

Does this mean we should all take questionable (at best) endorsement deals?

Hey, if it means being able to throw 5 TDs in a single NFL game, sign me up for all these pictures in the world…

Who’s going to be the last team to win a game?

This question was posed to me on Sunday as we were talking about how terrible the Bucs and the Rams are (and before I blacked out). I gave the standard “well, St. Louis has a great chance to beat the Lions next week…” response that I heard someone much smarter than me say on TV, but the truth is, I don’t know when either of these teams are going to win a game. I do think the Rams will win first, because they have a player (Steven Jackson) who has the ability to catch on fire during a game and put them over the edge. The Bucs have no such player, and are considering switching to a rookie QB. “You mean they’ve been getting demolished with a veteran QB?”. Exactly.

Fantasy Question of the Week

Can laziness cost you 3 TDs in a week?

Yes, yes it can. I have Vernon Davis in a league. Did I play him this week? Of course not, so I got no part of his 3 TD explosion. But the real intriguing question is ‘why?’. And the answer is: I’m just lazy. After getting Jermichael Finley to fill in for Davis during his week 6 bye, I just didn’t bother to switch them out, figuring that the match-up (GB vs. Cle) would make up for the fact that Davis is more talented and they would give me about the same points. That was dumb. I’m now instituting a strict “talent over match-up” policy on my fantasy teams. What’s really bad, is if the person in my league had accepted my trade on Thursday instead of Sunday (Jermichael Finley for Jets Defense) I would have been forced to play Davis and would have had a great week.

Un-Perfect Season Watch ‘09!

Each week we will hilight the lowliest of the NFL landscape. Why? Because it’s fun to laugh and point at other people’s misfortune.

Un-unbeaten teams: St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Bucs, Tennessee Titans

Bottom of the barrel (teams that failed to score an offensive TD in the past week):  Cleveland Browns, St. Louis Rams, Oakland Raiders

Monday Night Sneak (Preview) Attack

Phi @ Was - Washington is terrible, and Philly will be motivated after being embarrassed last week. I don’t care if Donnie Mac is questionable, Kevin Kolb will be a fine replacement if necessary. I can’t wait to see how many delay of game penalties Was will rack up with their new retarded playcalling system (the new guy will get it to a coordinator, who will then relay it to Cambpell).

2009 Sneak attack record: 6-1