Here at Field Gulls we’ve had discussions on just about every aspect of football, including having discussions about when we can or should have discussions about Fantasy.  Well, this IS the place.  You can, if you must, add fantasy talk in additional game threads, but be warned, someone may be watching, and they may be mocking.  Here, you have free rein to talk your team’s reign or your rain of injuries.

Something to note, and this should be a true football fan’s golden ticket when it comes to heaven and hell and the voiding of the warranty on your soul.

The first rule of Fantasy Football, you do NOT root for players against your favorite team.
The second rule of Fantasy Football, you do NOT root for players against your favorite team.

On this site, never cheer vocally against the Seahawks due to your fantasy roster.  Statements like, "Well, at least I have Larry Fitzgerald on my fantasy team" (if) he was scorching the Hawks will unleash the hounds of hell upon you.  Please don’t be that one bastard playing the "Don’t Come" line at the craps table.  Not only will you bring bad mojo to everybody, but you’ll likely get verbally harassed, if not banned.  You are a Seahawk fan, you are not "that guy" you are one of OUR guys—so act like it!

Rants and Ramblings.

I have a confession to make.  I might not be the best person to be giving fantasy advice.  I haven’t won a fantasy championship in three years.  I feel a little like Dan Marino in around ’85.  You know he believed he was going to make it back to the promised land and win one, and he never again got close…  Speaking of which, don’t you feel a little like Dan Marino is about to wrap his isotoners around someone’s neck the next time they mention how great a leader and winner and talented of a quarterback is Ben Roethlisberger?

However little I’ve won recently, I do believe I put together good teams.  I think my rationale is sound…  it’s just… the luck part of fantasy football and poker seem to fall away from me.

Fantasy football is an endeavor in hope, and all you can do as fantasy GM is put the best possible pieces together and pray they stay healthy and perform up to expectations. Well, isn’t that interesting.  Sounds a little like the same thing that a real GM has to deal with.  So the next time you have some commentary about Ruskell’s inability to put together whatever aspect of the Hawks you find lacking, ask yourself this—are you in first place in your Fantasy League, a place far more inherently easy to win than the NFL?  If not, perhaps your methodology for expectation in the Hawks is a little off base, eh?

Let’s talk a little about "Luck" as it pertains to fantasy football.  I completely believe there are times where you make your own luck, but we have to be cognizant that there are times where things just break bad.  One team in my keeper league has ZERO luck.  Two weeks ago, he made a blockbuster, trading Matt Forte for Roy Williams, a 2nd round pick, and a RB outperforming Forte with a less attractive contract, Ronnie Brown.  One week later, Brown goes down, lost for the year to injury.  This is the 2nd time this has happened to him, as two years ago he traded for Cadillac Williams the week before he blew his ACL.  Guy just needs to stay away from ex-Auburn teammates when trading for running backs.

I’ll be sure to let you know if he trades for Brandon Jacobs, since Jacobs started his college career in that same Auburn backfield…

Continuing on the "luck" tangent, listen to this team, in a .5 ppr 10 team league.  (PPR= Point Per Reception)

QB - Carson Palmer, Matt Ryan
RB -  AP, Ray Rice, Kevin Smith, Steve Slaton (and a recently picked up Larry Johnson on a flier.)
WR – Greg Jennings, Anquan Boldin, Percy Harvin, Nate Burleson
TE – Dustin Keller (just picked him while dropping a fading Todd Heap)
K – Stephen Gostkowski
D – Cincy.

Looks pretty good, right?  Great RB’s, a solid QB, talented WR’s, best kicker in the game and a top 5 defense.
 
Yeah, well, I’m 4-6 and in 8th place.  How is that even possible, that this team can be below .500 and on a three game losing streak?!?   6 teams make the playoffs, just have to hope I can get hot and pull an NC State tourney run.  Survive and advance, survive and advance.  The league playoffs aren’t until week 14, but mine start this week.  Hope my team gets the memo.
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The Picks.

The YOU IDIOT start from last week:  NYJ D vs. Jacksonville.  Apparently I didn’t get the memo that the NYJ D hasn’t done anything since about week 5, and Jacksonville has done nothing but get better offensively since the shellacking our Hawks put on them.

Dump of the Week:  NYJ D.  They’ve gone down hill from a modest to solid start, to a matchup start.  Now with only Buffalo and TB left as potential matchup starts, there are better week to week D’s available.  Let them go and don’t pick them back up! 

The "You’ve got the touch" Reach Start of the Week:  Beanie Wells against St. Louis.  If you are ever going to start him, St. Louis is the team to do it against.  Otherwise, might as well shelf him the rest of the way.

The bad idea play of the week:  Hate to say it, but it’s our boy Matt Hasselbeck.  Minnesota’s given up a ton of passing yardage this year, but most of it has been mid to deep routes, not check downs.  For Matt to have a big game, his wide receivers are going to have to kill it in the YAC categories.  Not to mention we’re at Minny, which means snap count/audible issues and of course, Jared Allen coming around the corner hard and fast.  Not good.

And, because someone commented in a thread a while back that AP might be primarily a product of his line, not that he is a great back, but only that he is "pretty good" or some such.  Here is a first half of 2009 highlight reel in HD.  Guy is crazy good.  Check 1:42 for a little Pittsburgh beat down (how can that NOT make a Seahawk fan happy, even if it wasn't our guy handing out the beat down. 

We get to watch the best back in the league this week… may the Hawks contain him.