I'm finally all moved in, and things are starting to get back to normal.  I now have the Internet at home (2 weeks seems like an eternity), and can now go on a Fantasy Football binge until the season starts.

I'm not going to go into specific rankings, as they are very subjective based on the league.  I know we have one draft tomorrow night (friendly reminder to those in the Stampede Blue league), and its scoring is much different than the draft I had on Saturday.  What I will do is go through some strategies to help you along with creating the best team possible, hopefully to win you some money, if you are in to those sorts of things.

The first strategy to remember is to Tier Each Position.  Each position will have its own tiering structure, and each tier can have anywhere from 3 to 8 guys in each one.  Having this information will make your draft much easier.  Here are some examples from my draft this past weekend:

• Quarterbacks seemed relatively easy to tier.  This league is a keeper league, and the 4 Tier 1 QBs were already kept from last season (Brady, Peyton, Romo, and Brees).  The second tier included Palmer, McNabb, Roethlisberger, and Eli.  I wanted to make sure I grabbed one of those guys, but didn't want to to grab one too early.  Knowing ahead of time that those 4 guys would all be relatively similar, I was good getting any of them.  As each round went on, 5, then 6, then 7, and only Palmer had been chosen.  In the mean time, I got to load up on RBs and WRs, which is always a good idea.  I then grabbed Eli after Roethlisberger was chosen.  Had I not tiered guys, I probably would have taken a QB 3 rounds earlier, when there was no need to.
• Tight End is also very important to tier.  There are only a handful of TEs that are viable fantasy starters.  After I had taken Eli, there were no longer any Tier 1 or 2 TEs left, which I was ok with.  There were 4 guys who are still decent plays, and again I wanted to make sure to grab one, but not too early.  I got to wait until Round 12 before taking Greg Olsen.  Again, had I not tiered, I probably would have taken a TE way too early. Instead, I got to pad my lineup with more RBs and WRs, which (hopefully) will help my team later on.

Tiering is really easy to do, and is extremely helpful when your draft comes around.  It helps make your picks for you, at least position wise.  Your league scoring will tell you which guy to take (more on this later this week).

I enjoyed my first Fantasy Football draft this weekend with a bunch of my friends from college.  Well, enjoyed is a relative term.  I had a rough go of it:

• It is a 16 team league, which is too big for a football league, but I'll grin and bear it.
• I had the 13th pick, which is just awful.  As I learned throughout the draft, reaches were too much of a reach, and every player I wanted got snatched up just before I picked him.
• It was a draft with Individual Defensive players, and an FYI for anyone using Yahoo (you shouldn't, as FanHouse looks much better), their defensive player rankings are awful.  I did get Bob "S'ova" Sanders and Freeney, counting on the fact they are both healthy.
• I left before the draft was over, and they did not draft me a kicker.  Oh well.

Then comes to my adventure with the QB position.  I'm really high on Eli this season, and he was still sitting around in Round 7.  However, this was at the beginning of the round, and he didn't last to #13.  I basically had my team set, minus the QB, but nobody was worthy of a QB pick at this point.

In round 8, however, I couldn't wait any longer.  12 of the other teams already had a QB, so I had to take one before my next pick (which was 24 players later).  I was looking at who was left, and my gut told me I had to take one guy.  I was already frustrated, and needed to take a flyer on a feast or famine guy.  I made this comment to my buddies right before I picked:

"I hate this pick with every bone in my body, but I need to take a chance"

I took Vince Young.

This is, of course, merely hours after he looked absolutely horrible against the Raiders.  However, I did not have internet access until the draft, so I had no idea about it.  I only read BBS gushing over Young, which was enough for me to take a chance on the guy.

I'm counting on Young improving at least to 1:1 on his TD:INT ratio, plus the fact that they are going to let him run near the red zone, getting me TDs.  I did take Jeff Garcia and Matt Leinart, also hoping to catch lightning in a bottle. 

I feel dirty, and need a shower now.  Luckily Young will be "throwing" to Reggie Wayne.

I apologize for not posting much recently.  I have been busy preparing for a cross-country move, which I still haven't finished yet, but am almost there.  I'm moving from Redskin country to Broncos Country.

I didn't get a chance to actually watch the game against the Panthers, but did listen to most of the first half thanks to Sirius Satellite Radio.  I've missed the voices of Bob Lamey and Will Wolford, and it was great to hear them again.  Here's some of the things I noticed:

• The first two drives were disasters, and it was tough to tell on the radio whether it was Sorgi's fault or the Offensive Line's fault.  Again, I haven't seen any of these plays, and the radio guys said they thought it was the fact the Panthers D-Line was stunting and blitzing (which BBS brought up as well), and the O-Line just wasn't ready for it.  Sorgi did lead a nice drive, finding Harrison 3 times, and running a screen against all the blitzing to Clark.  He couldn't find the end zone, however.
• The radio guys mentioned that the Panthers starting offensive line consisted of a center, and 4 tackles.  I think that explains why they were so successful running the football against a Colts D-Line, which, as BBS said, didn't really prepare for this game.  I wouldn't worry too much about this fact.  Our D-Line is much improved, and Carolina may lead the league in rushing this season.
• Another thought on the Panther's rushing attack: They have 3 backs that could get 8+ carries a game, as I see them running the ball 35 times a game.  One, they obviously bolstered their O-Line, and second, Jake Delhomme is coming off Tommy John surgery, which is a reconstruction of his throwing elbow.  I think they want to ease him back to the mix, so they will be running a lot.  Throw in Steve Smith being suspended for the first 2 games, and running the ball a lot makes sense.
• Jared Lorenzen ran for 25 yards on a scramble?!?  I need to see this video to believe it.  He did lead 2 TD drives, one of which in a semi-hurry up offense.  It's good Dungy and the coaching staff are giving each of the QBs time in the first half to see how they do.
  
• Jacob Tamme looks to be a great Red Zone target, especially against teams with smaller LBs.  Just another weapon teams will have to contend with.
• The defense, I think, played pretty well.  Obviously the Panthers put up lots of rushing yards, but needed nearly 50 carries to do so.  14 points by the Panthers were from off turnovers deep in Colts territory, so you really can't blame the defense for that.  They then held the Panthers scoreless for 2 and a half quarters.  The Colts have some depth, and it showed.

What I'd like to see against the Falcons:

1. Let Quinn Gray start with the first team.  He's looked good with the second and third teams, even with the turnovers.  Let him throw to the big weapons, and see what happens.
2. Pressure "Captain Intangibles" and force at least 1 turnover from Ryan.
3. Stop the run game.  Both the Redskins and Panthers seemed to run all over the Colts defense.  I think this will be a trend this season (opposing teams running alot), and the Colts should start preparing now.

There was a great article in the Indy Star Wednesday by Mike Chappell talking about Joseph Addai.  He talks about how some things are just a blur to him, like the fact he's now entering his third season with the Colts:

"Seems like I was at LSU yesterday and now I'm going into my third year (in the NFL)," he said. "I'm just enjoying it."

Chappell also talks about how Addai is seeking out advice from former Colt, and the team's all-time leading rusher Edgerrin James:

In an e-mail response to The Star, James made it clear he emphasizes to Addai the need to take care of himself physically as well as the details required to play the position.

"I always tell him to take good care of his body and continue to work on the little things," James said. "Everything else is usually about life."

We all know Edge is a stand up guy, and part of me hopes that in a few years, he'll end his career back in Indianapolis.  We also know that Addai is not afraid to ask for advice, and take it to heart, which is great to know.

Addai is also really stressing consistency this season.  He wants to be the same back in Week 17 (and the playoffs) that he is in Week 1.  From the article:

Addai averaged 100.6 yards per game and 4.7 yards per attempt in his first seven games, but only 45.7 and 3.3 the rest of the way, including the playoff loss to San Diego.

Addai said he is setting some lofty goals for himself this season, but didn't share what they were.  Here are my goals for Joe, which I think he'll get:

This also doesn't take into account any other numbers the other RBs.  I think Addai is primed for a breakout season, especially if everyone stays healthy.  Here's to 4th quarters this season being dominated by #29, eating up time and protecting leads.

I was cruising around the interwebs this evening (while watching the Cubs beat up on Ben Sheets), and found some previews for this Sunday's Hall of Fame game between the Colts and Redskins.  I only read one paragraph, before I stopped in my tracks:

Sports Interaction has set Washington as a five-point favorite against Indianapolis for the Hall of Fame game at Canton this weekend. For Redskins fans, this might be as good as things get for them this year.

Wait a minute...I know gambling on NFL games is very common, and I plan on using "fake money" this year to see how well I do betting on the games.  That being said, you can bet on PRESEASON GAMES?!?  People actual put their hard-earned money on the line, hoping that Jared Lorenzen can find the 7th or 8th WR on the depth chart in the 4th quarter to cover the 5 points??  I'll quote Richard Bagg, from Van Wilder, when I say "Are you Insane?"

If you think about putting some money down on a preseason game, please stop and think about what you are doing for a second.  Set the money aside, wait until #18 is under center, and for an entire game, then put that money down on the Colts covering.  Especially in week 1.

I hope everyone enjoyed the trip down memory lane, looking back at #18's greatest games.  I certainly had fun researching games, looking back at them, and being amazed at how great Peyton Manning really is.  I wanted to recap the top 10, as well as give you a couple more "Honorable Mention" games, which fall just short.

10. Manning shreds the Denver defense on Wild Card weekend, again.

  9. Manning finally wins in Foxboro, and does it in style

  8. Manning has first perfect passer rating in win vs. the Patriots

  7. Manning finds Harrison 3 times on MNF vs. the Bengals

  6. Manning unstoppable in Kansas City in Divisional Playoff

  5. Manning has a sweet homecoming with 6 TD passes vs. Saints

  4. Manning gets "the record breaker" with TD pass #49 vs. Chargers

  3. Manning "wins the big game" in Super Bowl XLI

  2. Manning wins first playoff game vs. Broncos with perfect passer rating

  1. Manning leads 18 point comeback vs. Patriots in AFC Title Game

Here are some honorable mention games, which are still fantastic games, just not as good as those above:

• December 19, 1999 vs. Washington:  Manning secures his first playoff bid with the Colts with a 24-21 victory, and clinches the division championship after a 3-13 rookie season.  It also was win #10 in a row for the Colts.
• September 25, 2000 vs. Jacksonville:  Manning throws for 440 yards and 4 TDs against the Jaguars on Monday night.
• November 10, 2002 at Philadelphia:  Manning throws his second perfect passer rating game, throwing for 319 yards and 3 TDs in a 35-13 route of the Eagles.
• October 6, 2003 at Tampa Bay:  Manning leads the Colts to 21 points in the last 4:21 of the game to send it to overtime, ending on a Vanderjagt "doink" off the upright for the 38-35 win against the defending Super Bowl Champs.
• November 25, 2004 at Detroit:  Manning throws for 6 TDs in 3 quarters on Thanksgiving in a 41-9 spanking of the Lions.

What games did I miss?  Should any of the honorable mentions be included in the top 10?  Let me know what you think. 

via cache.daylife.com

Game #1 takes us back to January 21, 2007, where the Colts battled to New England Patriots for the right to go to Super Bowl XLI.  Since you've all read Manning's Greatest Game #3, and you know it is Super Bowl XLI, I think you have an idea who wins this game.  Manning and the Colts had come off Battle of Field Goals win in Baltimore, and the Patriots beat the 14-2 and #1 seed Chargers.  Coming into the Playoffs, I had the exact same thoughts as BBS, in that the Colts would be hosting the Patriots for the AFC Title, and that was the Colts best shot at getting to the Super Bowl.  A round of applause is unnecessary.  Here's what BBS said:

The Colts will beat the Chiefs, and then they will play their next playoff game in Baltimore for the first time since the Baltimore fans abandoned the Colts, thus prompting them for Indy. The Colts will then beat the Ravens, and then square off in the AFC Championship game against... the Patriots. Yes folks. The Patriots will beat the heavily favored San Diego Chargers, and they will face the Colts in the AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis. The Colts will beat New England (again), and thus make the Super Bowl. A road through the AFC like this is storybook: Beleaguered run defense against Larry Johnson; Colts in Baltimore for the playoffs; Colts against Patriots in AFC Championship Game. In one swoop, all playoff demons get exorcized.

I thought that instead of explaining the details of a game everyone has seen multiple times probably, I thought I'd make this a video blog.  I've pulled clips from the game (well, almost exclusively from the second half), and I'll let the actual tape tell the story for me.  I'll interject with my thoughts at the time, as I'm sure they were very similar to yours.

The game started out very slow for the Colts, getting down 14-3 with about 10 minutes to go in the second quarter.  Then the unthinkable happened:  An Asante Samuel INT returned for a TD, putting the Patriots up 21-3, looking like they were on their way to another blowout victory of the Colts in the playoffs.  It got even worse for the Colts, as Manning was sacked on the first two plays of the next drive, and the Colts punted from their own end zone, giving the Patriots the ball near midfield.  The Patriots looked like they were going to put the game away with about 5 minutes to go in the half, but they decided to run an illegal pick play on a 3rd down, then got called for an illegal shift, then Brady got sacked, putting them back at mid field.  This was key for the defense, and gave the offense the ball back with about 3 minutes to go in the half.

The first two plays did absolutely nothing, and CBS was already starting to show that the Colts had no shot, as you can see for yourself in this video.  Personally, I think this is the biggest play in the game.  It was a catalyst for this drive, and gave the Colts a new life:

Continue reading this post »

After reading the story on Manning last night, I clicked on the video that was attached to the link.  NFL Network has a whole bunch of lists that it runs through, and the video was for the Best Single-Season Performance.  Now, I cannot prove that this was made after the 2007 season, but the video is dated June 4, 2008, so presumably Brady's 2007 was included in this list, and not judged as well as Peyton Manning in 2004.  And, they are, of course, correct.

Here is the link to the video (Improvement for SBNation:  Emded videos from NFL.com, not just YouTube.  They are so much better quality).

Now, this contradicts what shake n bake just told us the Stats Gods at Football Outsiders figured out.  I'm gonna go Terry on them, and say it isn't all about the stats!  Well, just different ones

• Manning destroyed the single season for passer rating at 121.1, besting Steve Young at 112.8.  Brady was a pedestrian 117.2, also besting Young, but not at Manning's level.
• Manning did not play in week 17.  He could have padded his TD stats against the Broncos, seeing as he threw 4 of them against them in the playoff game.
• Last year over on Pats Pulpit, a series was written on comparing Brady and Manning.  One of the things that was a "plus" for Brady was his ability to spread the ball around, and he claimed Manning did no such thing.  In Brady's magical 2007, he found Randy Moss 23 times, and the next highest was 8 for Wes Welker.  Doesn't sound like spreading it around.  The 2004 Colts set another record that year:  the first time in NFL history a team had 3 players with 10+ TDs, as "the record breaker" gave Stokley 10 on the season.  I never understood why this was such a distinctive stat, but since he used it, I'll make use of it as well, in favor of Manning.
• The 2004 Colts played the 11th toughest schedule, according the Sagarin.  The 2007 Patriots?  19th toughest.

By the way, #1 is on the way in the next few nights.  I'm attempting to pull together videos, as they tell the story much better than I ever could...

via cache.viewimages.com

Game #2 takes us back to January 4, 2004, when the Colts hosted the Denver Broncos on Wild Card Weekend.  This was Manning's 4th playoff game, in which he was 0-3.  He couldn't win a playoff game.  Tony Dungy couldn't win a playoff game (he'd lost in the first round each of the previous seasons).  Boy did Manning quiet his critics on this day.

Two weeks earlier, the Broncos visited the RCA Dome, without RB Clinton Portis.  I remember this distinctively for two reasons:  I was at the game, and I lost the finals of Fantasy Football because he didn't play.  The first game with the Broncos could be considered one of Manning's worst games as a professional.  The Colts had no rhythm on offense, and only managed 10 points (Gary Brackett had an INT return for a TD in the first quarter, right in front of our seats), and 15:00 of time of possession.  The defense couldn't stop the backup RB in Quentin Griffin either.  I was not very confident going into the playoffs.

The playoffs, however, were a completely different story from the get-go.  The Colts took the opening kickoff, and Edgerrin touched the ball on the first 5 plays, getting down to the Denver 31.  That's where Manning's assault on the Denver secondary began.  He found Brandon Stokley for a 31 yard TD to go up 7-0.  Denver then tried the common approach to beating the Manning-led Colts:  keep the ball out of Manning's hands.  They had a 12 play, 8:13 drive, but only managed 3 points.  Denver's strategy quickly went out the door.

On the next possession, the Colts faced a 3rd and 8 from the Denver 46.  Manning found Marvin Harrison for a 16 yard play as he fell to the ground to make the catch.  He realized, however, that none of the Broncos that stood over him (Lenny Walls, Kelly Herndon, and Al Wilson)decided to touch him.  Marvin got up, ran into the end zone untouched, and the Colts led 14-3.  That pretty much summed up the Broncos' day.  The Colts got the ball back again, and 8 plays later Manning again found Harrison for a 23 yard TD.  The route was on.

The Broncos, for the 3rd drive in a row, held the ball for longer than 4 minutes, but stalled thanks to a couple penalties.  This controlling time of possession thing was obviously not working.  Manning took the first snap after a punt, and found Stokley again for a 87 yard TD.  It's now 28-3 with 2 minutes to go in the first half.  After an INT by David Macklin and a nice return, Manning and the Colts took over at the Broncos 42.  Manning moved the offense down the field, and got a FG as time expired.  Halftime score:  31-3.  Total Domination.  Here are Manning's stats:

Yes, that is correct.  Manning's yards/attempt is 18.2 for the first half.  Simply unbelievable.  But he wasn't done yet.  The Colts blocked a FG to start the half, then Manning took his time with a 12 play, 64 yard drive that took 5:45, finding Reggie Wayne (he was starting to feel left out) for a 7 yard TD.  Dwight Freeney forced a fumble of Jake Plummer 2 plays into the Broncos drive, and Manning couldn't get TD pass #6 on third down, settling for a FG, making it 41-3, ending his day with 0:59 left in the third quarter.  For the second time in this series (and the second time in 2003), Manning threw for 5 TDs (or more) in 3 quarters, achieving a perfect passer rating.  His final stats:

This was the 4th time in NFL History a perfect passer rating was posted in the post season, and the first since 1983 (Bonus points for guessing without looking).  It hasn't happened since then either.  After the game, Stokley had this to say about Manning:

Every ball he threw was perfect

Coach Dungy said this:

“I hope people think this was a big game,” Dungy said. “We kept hearing about Peyton’s failure to win big games. I guess this was a big one.”

This game was a serious statement by Peyton Manning.  This is easily one of Manning's greatest games, but falls just short at #2 on our list.  He dismantled a team he couldn't do anything against just 2 weeks prior.  Vintage Peyton Manning.

Here is the NFL.com Gamebook: