What we are talking about:
Eli Manning
Nope, I never learn do I?
Rodgers or Brees
Who are you going with?
Chris Jericho
He's back, but to face who?
We declared Katy Perry as the free agent of the year for 2012, but now she has some competition from Zooey Deschanel, who is also joining the free-agent pool, as she officially filed for divorce from her husband. And this is good news for those of you who feel like you have a chance of landing a rock and/or movie star. That's not happening.
But you want to know what could happen?
You could be the winner of the Rank Amateurs in the NFL Playoff Challenge (click here to join). That's right; it's not too late to sign up for one last chance at fantasy glory. I have set up my own league so you can take me on. Not only will you have a chance for all of the prizes available from NFL.com, the winner of my league gets their choice of a copy of "1984" or "Cannonball Run."
Of course, some of you thought I meant "1984" the book, which is making me feel old because I meant the Van Halen album. But what the hell, the winner can choose the book.
With that all of the way, I am offering you my likes and dislikes for the coming fantasy week and more. That's right, Facebook won't give you a dislike button, but I certainly will. And this all will be presented to you in a random, meandering style, which has been glowingly referred to as "teenager on crack chic." Bolded names are my likes and dislikes. My first "like" is my stat man, Bill "Sudsy" Sudell.
Too many disclaimers? You can always check the rankings, but that is a terrible way to waste the final hours of your work week.
Eli Manning ruined my regular-season fantasy leagues, so why not my Playoff Challenge, too? …
Critics knock Tim Tebow for praying on the field, but Manning does it seemingly every time he throws. Thankfully for him, Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are there to bail him out seemingly every time. There's no denying. …
Eli is becoming the bread winner of the family, so I feel it's time for Peyton Manning to leave the Colts in favor of the New York Jets. At first blush, I feel Peyton would be at odds with Rex Ryan's boastful ways. But then I looked at Robert Irsay's Twitter feed and figured it would be a wash. …
Forget Peyton, though. The Jets should be hot on the trail of Matt Flynn this year. But a sound, football decision? Nah, not the Jets' style. …
And before you bring up Scott Mitchell or Kevin Kolb, realize there have been guys such as Matt Schaub, Matt Hasselbeck and Mark Brunnell who have gone from backups to doing rather well. In a league in which Tarvaris Jackson and John Skelton played this year, you can't tell me Flynn isn't a starting-caliber quarterback. …
I would err on the upside with Flynn instead of risking it on Manning making a comeback. And speaking of comebacks: Chris Jericho returned to RAW this week. But what the hell was that all about? …
ImageI really loved Jerchio's return, mind you, with him preening and soaking in the cheers, which eventually turned to boos. It's nice when a heel -- as Brandon Stroud of "With Leather" would say -- can get over without having to resort to "you people" kind of promos. This was a nice turn and made a lot of sense considering people are just going to cheer for Jericho. …
ImageThe question for Jericho is this: Who is his next feud with? Does he return to the championship scene to fight CM Punk? I still think it is Punk vs. Dolph Ziggler at 'Mania. I'm going to say it's Daniel Bryan after he's done with this nonsense with the Big Show. Bryan vs. Jericho at Wrestlemania would be rather awesome. …
ImageI'm not sure if I'm more excited for Jericho to return or the announcement of Van Halen's tour. In a nice touch, Van Halen is going to play shows in both Los Angeles and Anaheim. Finally, a big-time band realizes that there is a difference between the L.A. and Orange County markets. That being said, I'll catch them in Las Vegas. A show they smartly put on Sunday for the locals, instead of the tourist crowd. Nice work. …
ImageAnd yeah, I said last week I was torn because I wanted Van Halen to have a complete reunion with Michael Anthony. But I'm leaning towards going. ...
If you aren't willing to let Eli ruin your Playoff Challenge team, take a gamble on Ahmad Bradshaw. I'm telling you, the Giants are poised for a run. I swear, I might have Stockholm Syndrome from watching the Giants so G-D much out here. Can we please get a team back in Los Angeles? If for nothing else, so we don't have to see the Giants. Or listen to Joe Buck. …
Here's the conundrum: A guaranteed two weeks of Drew Brees or one week of double points from Aaron Rodgers. Tough to go against Brees because you are guaranteed two games (at least one of double points), but the Packers seem more likely to go further in the playoffs. I'd pick Rodgers if I was forced to choose. …
But this thing gets blown up if we have Eli vs. Alex Smith in the NFC Championship Game.
And play Jimmy Graham only if you believe the Saints are going back to the Super Bowl. Or at least the NFC Championship Game. Which I don't, but if you do, I would play him over Rob Gronkowski. …
Take as many Steelers as you feel comfortable with. Isaac Redman has the ability to be this year's Jimmy Starks, the guy who comes out of nowhere to lead the playoffs in rushing because he could end up seeing action in four games. …
That makes me like Mike Wallace in the first round, too. The Steelers should handle the Broncos' business, and then move on to New England. And remember, the Patriots' D is terrible and has cost them in the postseason in recent years. And then, are you kidding me, a Steelers vs. Ravens AFC Championship Game? Go with Wallace. …
I mixed in a couple of players on byes, going with Frank Gore and Jordy Nelson. The best part of this game is that its part fantasy expertise, part football prognostication. You have to pick the games and take a risk on it. (Disclosure: I subbed in Bradshaw). …
Gore is going to be able to face the Saints in the second round, and he's going to at least the NFC Championship Game. I like the theme of a Steelers vs. 49ersSuper Bowl if, for no other reason, it's a nice matchup of teams that made my life miserable as a kid. To make it perfect, the special guest referees will be Dave Henderson, Joe Montana, Patrick Roy and the Iron Shiek. …
I'm taking Philip Rivers to be my quarterback. What? The Chargers aren't in the playoffs? That's weird, because I could have sworn I read a story about Norv Turner and A.J. Smith returning in 2012. …
ImageI like college football. I don't like the BCS. So I won't be watching the BCS title game Monday night. The only voice we have against the money machine of the BCS is to not watch the title game. If we turn out in record numbers to watch this (expletive), there is no reason to change. The only chance we have is to stay away in record numbers and force them to make a change. Don't succumb to the BCS, take a stand! …
Why are people surprised every year when Tom Brady loses a playoff game? I just don't get it. …
If you look at the AFC quarterbacks, Brady is clearly well above most of the competition. But then again, the last two playoff losses for the Patriots have come against Mark Sanchez and Joe Flacco. …
ImageI have a real fear we are going to get a boring Super Bowl like the Giants vs. the Ravens or something similar. The whole year has kind of set up like that. …
What an amazing game where you want to avoid playing Calvin Johnson, Julio Jones and A.J. Green because you fear the Lions, Falcons and Bengals are going to be bounced in the first round. Which they are. …
Same deal with Arian Foster. I wouldn't play him because of the team's previous meeting in the regular season, but I can't see the Texans making a huge run. A first-round win against the Bengals who are mailing it in? Sure. A win at Baltimore in the second round? No. …
Excuse me, I'm still going to marvel that Megatron, Julio, A.J., and Foster are on the dislike side of the register. …
ImageSpeaking of Marvel, "The Avengers" movie is reshooting some scenes. A bunch of photos (Link) have Chris Evans running around without his Captain America mask. Dude, don't turn into Toby McGuire in "Spiderman 2" as he spent the whole damn movie with his mask off. We're there to see the superhero, not you. Well, I probably won't go. Outside of the Spiderman franchise, I don't read or watch Marvel. …
ImageI do have to say, why is Evans playing Captain America? He's also the Torch. Both are from the same universe, and it's conceivable they could interact. Is Hollywood that deprived of actors it couldn't find two different people to play the Torch and Captain America? It sickens me. ...
Tim Tebow's run as a fantasy relevant quarterback has come to an end, too. We will be sitting around watching a special on quarterback busts, and Tebow's name will come up. I'll be on the show saying, "People forget he won six games and led the Broncos to the playoffs." Nobody will believe me. …
Tebow said he was going to take John Elway's advice to throw more. Can somebody please tell Tim that Elway was just joking? Either that or Elway is participating in the new version of Punk'd. …
If you follow me on Twitter, you know that Friday is #talkaboutit Friday. The question this week: Who will pull the upset in the first round? Many of you sided with the Broncos. I just don't see it. Tebowmania is still rolling, I suppose. Oh, and by the way, follow me already, won't you? …
ImagePunk'd is returning. Between "Punk'd" and "Beavis and Butthead," MTV is going so old-school, they might start playing music videos. Just kidding, that will never happen. I would like to see MTV casting the "Real World" with up-and-coming talents in the world instead of settling for attention-seeking tools who are more interested in fame than doing a job. I guess that's similar to the Jets' QB situation. …
A Jets quarterback recently ripped the team's selfish attitude, only it was rookie Greg McElroy and not the team's current starter. That figures. …
Former Jets player Kris Jenkins ripped Mark Sanchez for his lack of leadership (link), partly because he got caught up in the New York lifestyle, which included posing for GQ. I mean, is there anybody who lacks such self-awareness? Well, other than the cast of the Jersey Shore. …
Do you think Matt Schaub slips some Scotch into his Gatorade while watching T.J. Yates on the field? That can't be comfortable. I mean, it's the first time the franchise is in the playoffs and you aren't playing? …
What's funny is you want to write off the Texans because of Yates, but Sanchez has been to consecutive championship games. …
Matt Ryan has turned up at some point, right? This guy has been added to the NFL's elite group of signal callers but has yet to earn it on the field. A win in New York would be a nice start. But it's not going to happen. …
There have been some teams who sneak into the playoffs to make a huge run. But not the Bengals. The future is bright in Cincinnati, but it's not like this team was tearing it up down the stretch. They got in almost by accident. …
ImageTurns out it was true, Turner and Smith are returning to San Diego. Well, the Chargers at least. I've seen this before, back when it was a movie called "Major League." …
Seriously, the Chargers hate winning, right? The bar was set awfully high when Marty Schottenheimer was fired after a 14-2 season. …
Do you think Smith watches the Saints' game, or does he not want to see his former players do well? But he probably can't watch any of the playoffs considering the high-volume of players he's given up on who are playing in the next two weeks: The Saints' guys, Wes Welker and Michael Turner. I guess we can count Manning, too. Your best bet to be a success in the NFL is to be drafted, and then released by Smith. I hope San Diego enjoys that continuity.
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL Fantasy Live, Michael Fabiano or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL Fantasy Live has 37,000 followers, and Fabiano has 40,000. Me? Just 13. See, the odds are better I will answer your question, so hit me up both via Twitter or via Facebook. Also be sure to catch the latest "Dave Dameshek Football Program."
