Editor's Note:  Be sure to get your picks in for the Stampede Blue Prediction Contest.  You have until 1:00 ET Sunday.  Get your picks in sooner rather than later.

Welcome to Week 16 of your Fantasy Football Sleepers and Busts.  I'll review last week before going into this week's studs and duds.

Sleepers:

• Tyler Thigpen:  171 passing, 1 TD/1 INT, 41 rush yds, 1 TD = 20 pts.  Even though the Chiefs completely blew the game against the Chargers, Thigpen didn't play all that bad.  I'll take it.
  
• Maurice Morris:  86 yds rush = 8 pts.  No TDs leave me without a correct pick here.  Did anyone actually watch this game last week?
  
• Davone Bess:  25 yards = 2 pts.  This is what is so frustrating about fantasy football.  The guy has 3 great weeks in a row, has a great matchup, and completely disappears.  Oh well.
  

Busts:

• Jay Cutler: 172 yds passing, 1 TD/1 INT, 9 rush yds = 10 pts.  He struggled against a very good Panther defense, especially in Charlotte.  I really hope they get it done this weekend, and playing the Bills will certainly help.  I'd rather not have to go back to San Diego.
  
• Marshawn Lynch: 127 yds rushing, 13 rec. = 13 pts. Lynch had a big day running the ball, but didn't find the end zone.  I'll be conservative and say it was decent enough that he wasn't a bust last week.
  
• Calvin Johnson: 110 yards, 1 TD, 1 FL = 15 pts.  Boy is he good.  I had no idea he lost a fumble on the last play of the game last week, as I'd turned it off before that happened.  I'm sure that cost somebody a FFL win.
  

Bonus Pick: Peyton Manning: 318 yards, 1 TD = 18 pts.  I won't count it, as it was too easy.  Manning continues his MVP season with nice numbers against a bad defense.

So I was 2/6 last week, and 45/94 for the season.  Ugh.  Here are you fantasy nuggets for Week 16:

Sleepers:

• Dan Orlovsky vs. NO:  Orlovsky looked half-way decent last week against the Colts, and the Saints are 28th in the league against QB.  Is this the week?
  
• Ricky Williams vs. KC: The Dolphins are playing to keep their playoff hopes alive, and the Chiefs blew their game last week at the end, a game they should have never lost.  I don't think this one will be close.
  
• Jerricho Cotchery vs. SEA:  The Jets have not won on the West Coast yet this year.  In a must win for them, I think they get it done.  Seattle is dead last against WR this season. 
  

Busts:

• Philip Rivers vs. TB: In a must win for both teams, the Buccaneers are playing at home, where they haven't lost yet this season.  They are also 5th best against QB this season.  Did I mention I'd rather not go back to San Diego?
  
• Chris Johnson vs. PIT:  "Crazy Legs" is going to have a tough time today against the #2 defense against RB this season.  Plus they may be down late, causing his effectiveness to diminish slightly.  I still am undecided who I want to win.
  
• Terrell Owens vs. BAL: Witten is going to get a lot of balls this week.  The Ravens are 4th best against WR this week, Romo is banged up, and the Ravens want to kill someone after last week.  They may spoil the last game in Texas Stadium.  I don't think Owens will get many catches.
  

Bonus pick:  Drew Brees vs. DET. The Saints are out of the playoff race, so their only motivation is to not be the only team to lose to the Lions this season.  There's an outside chance it happens this week.  We shall see...

Good Luck to everyone who is in their "Super Bowl" this week.  I am in one league, but I haven't followed it much this season.  Maybe I'll sneak a victory out.

Don Banks is typically pretty good, but his most recent article is an example of a "journalist" writing a story and making selective facts fit within its confines rather than looking at the facts and then writing the story. Banks' recent work makes the statement that the struggles for Seattle, Indianapolis, and Dallas are the result of the owners of those teams naming successors to the current head coaches. Banks interviews two anonymous NFL general mangers, and they give their opinions on how naming a successor to a current head coach could result in losing. Here is Banks quoting an unnamed AFC general manager on the subject:

"In any organization, in- or outside of football, where there's a lack of the true lines of authority, it's going to be a problem. Even if it's a situation in the NFL where there's a team that has a coach and a general manager, without either one of them truly being in charge of the decision-making. The players need to know that the line of authority is clean and clear.''

However, what Banks and this moron AFC General Manager (I'm assuming Phil Savage of the Browns) leave out of the equation are all the other variables that come into play here, namely injuries. I'll go team-by-team here, but if you want a clear, accurate reason why Seattle, Dallas, and Indy are not leading their respective divisions the answer is injuries.

Now, that answer is not an "NFL correct" answer. Injuries are never supposed to be an excuse for losing. For players and coaches, they aren't and can't be. But when you step back and look at the big picture, logic (and basic common friggin sense) says that Seattle losing their entire WR corps and their starting QB to injury might have a bit more to do with their 2-6 record than the status of Mike Holmgren and his designated successor, assistant coach Jim Mora Jr. Sadly, writing an article about that is not as sexy as one suggesting naming successors is the reason these teams have disappointed of late.

Crap articles like this reinforce my feeling that sports journalism is dead; that informing fans about the sport is less important than writing a "sexy" story full of unsupported facts and bad, BAD logic. If you really want to know why Seattle, Dallas, and Indy are struggling, here is why:

Seattle

Since Week One their WR corps has been decimated. Deion Branch has been out most of the year with a foot injury, and Bobby Engram was lost back in August. Add to this the injury to QB Matt Hasselback (which has kept him out for many weeks), and you have a recipe for disaster that most clubs cannot recover from. Compounding the issue is the injury to DE Patrick Kerney, who is Seattle's sack master. Kerney is out indefinitely. So, to put this into terms many can understand, imagine the Giants losing Osi Umenyiora (which they did), but also Eli Manning and his entire starting WR corps. If you still think the Giants would have a winning record now (let alone a 7-1 record), you're out of your friggin mind.

Dallas

The only people shocked that the Cowboys stink right now are Cowboys fans and moron journalists. Even without the injuries, Dallas was a mess from the outset. Wade Phillips was always a short term puppet; a man with no authority over the roster. Even if he did have authority, Phillips has never proven himself a quality head coach in this league, especially when things go south. And when you stock your team with players like Terrell Owens and Tony Romo, you are invited disaster. These are not people who are known to keep their composure when things go wrong. They panic, point fingers, and do not inspire others to rise up to a challenge.

And then, there is Jerry Jones, one of the most incompetent football men in the sport. As a business man, he is outstanding. As an evaluator of talent, he is a complete boob. Terry could draft better for Dallas than Jones, and he'd probably sign better free agents. Anyone shocked by Dallas' mid-season collapse was blind to the obvious. This is not a high character team, and it starts with their owner.

Indianapolis

Like Seattle, injuries are a big reason why the Colts are at .500 at Week Nine for the first time since 2002. Pro Bowlers Jeff Saturday and Peyton Manning started the season hurt. Bob Sanders was knocked out in Week Two, and just came back last week against the Patriots. DT Ed Johnson was kicked off the team in Week Two, and his back-up (Quinn Pitcock) quit football prior to training camp. Starting LBer Tyjuan Hagler started the season on PUP, as did starting OG Ryan Lilja. Dallas Clark has missed several games with injury, and Joseph Addai just returned from missing three games with a hamstring tear. Starting CBs Marlin Jackson (out for year) and Kelvin Hayden (out since Week Four) have missed significant time. And, recently, WILL backer Freddie Keiaho has been out. 

Pile all that up boys and girls, and you have 4-4. If you have been around the Colts, you'd know that Dungy is still the man in charge, and this team certainly has not quit on him. Games like the comeback wins over Minnesota and Houston prove that. For the last three years, pretty much everyone knew that Jim Caldwell would succeed Tony Dungy. They just announced what everyone already knew this past off-season. From 2003-2007, the Colts did not have to contend with the kind of injuries they have sustained this season.

If Don Banks had done his job, he'd have written that, and not the crap he printed recently.

The way the "mainstream" media, and by extension the blogosphere, covered the shooting incident in Philadelphia that involved Marvin Harrison was disgraceful. We all know that. If it wasn't employees of WIP radio in Philly making allegations that Harrison was the target of a mob hit, it was ESPN's Sal Paolantonio berating Harrison for having the gall to maintain relations in the neighborhood he grew up in. Classless and unprofessional are the only ways one can describe the level of journalism displayed by media who covered this. Fanning the flames on the blogosphere was Mike Florio, the National Inquirer of the Internet. But as bad as all those scmhucks were, my favorite line came from this week's media idiot, Peter King:

Marvin Harrison is in more trouble than his agent, or even he, thinks.

Four months later, there is still no charge filed against Harrison; no arrest; no conviction; no nothing. Harrison is not even a suspect. Peter King is truly a man in the know.

Marvin is mad, and he is going to take his anger out on opposing defenses (and Mike Chappell).
Photo via bleacherreport.com

The whole incident was sad, really. Sad for the media and how they cover our athletes. It revealed what many of us already knew: That many corprate-fed media outlets are less about reporting facts and more about digging for dirt. Here was Marvin Harrison; a genuine, no-question-about-it, first ballot Hall of Fame wide receiver; a guy who really symbolized everything that the sport and position should be. He was quiet, loved by teammates, respected by peers, feared by opponents, cheered by fans, and making his stamp on some pretty serious NFL record books.

Yet, one incident occurs where a man (a known criminal) is thrown out of a bar Harrison owns in his old Philly neighborhood after causing a disturbance. The man continues the fight outside, and is shot in the hand. Police arrest the man, charge him, and then find out that the gun used to shoot him may have been owned by Marvin Harrison.

Instead of simply reporting this story, the media jumped on it like jackals, all but saying Harrison shot the guy even though no evidence suggested such a thing. And everyone, from WIP Radio to Paolantonio to Florio, wanted a piece of this story. They wanted to find the hidden dirt, and if there wasn't any, they'd just make it up. It's not about reporting facts and getting to the heart of the story. It's about finding the "GOTCHA!" in the story. It's pathetic, I know. But this is what corporate-fed media looks like when they cover your team. And in terms of Florio, this is "blogging" at its absolute worst.

So, all that said, recently Marvin sat down with the Indy Star's Mike Chappell, and it doesn't take much to see that Marvin is not happy at all with what people have written about him. I can't say I blame him:

Speaking to the local media for the first time since the Colts' Jan. 13 divisional playoff loss to San Diego -- and speaking only to The Star -- Harrison made it clear from the outset there wasn't much he cared to share.

A Colts official ended the interview when Harrison was asked about an April 29 shooting in his hometown of Philadelphia that involved a gun he owned.

I don't know why Chappell decided to run with this report. He basically reports that Harrison wouldn't talk to him about stuff Chappell wanted to talk about, as if Harrison were somehow "obligated" to chat about personal things with Chappell, or anyone else.

He offered no opinion on whether he is back to where he was before an injury to his left knee forced him to miss 11 games last season.

"I mean, have you been in Terre Haute watching practice?" Harrison said. "You can write what you see. That's the best way I can tell you."

Informed that Colts fans might prefer to hear Harrison's assessment, he said, "You all seem to know more about it . . . you all write what you see. That way I won't have a comment."

Harrison indicated he has been upset with some of what has been written about him. It was mentioned he has had some engaging discussions with the media during previous training camps.

"Oh, yes, we have," Harrison said. "Then sometimes you walk out with that knife in your back sometimes.

I find it a bit funny that Chappell feels entitled to tell Marvin what Colts fans might prefer. Chappell's a good beat writer, but he's not plugged in to what Colts fans want.

I can understand Marvin's frustration. The sad reality is the corporate-fed media that pumps up idiots like Sal Paolantonio is as much about ego as major athletes like Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson are. That's why ESPN loves covering them. Perhaps ego maniacal athletes like Owens and Pacman Jones simply hold up a mirror and reflect back the same me-first, egocentric slime that oozes from places like Bristol. Based on his questions, what people like Chappell fail to grasp is that we fans have SEEN that Marvin is fine. Many of us have been to camp, watched him practice, and reported on blogs like this that everything looks good. We've seen him look good in pre-season games. We don't need him to tell us he's ok. WE SEE IT. We also don't care about the Philly incident because Marvin was never a suspect in the first place.

Why should fans care if the police don't think he did anything wrong?

Unlike the three guys pictured with him,
Marvin is great AND not a douche.
Photo via www.sportspickle.com

Obviously, not all media screwed this up. The local Philly papers seemed to do a good job reporting what happened, and they had some good reporters (in particular, Philly Daily Nws reporter David Gambacorta) who did not fall into the trap of "GOTCHA!" journalism. Paolantonio could take lessons. And even Deadspin's new editor issued a sort-of apology for how they covered the Harrison incident. The one potential joy I will get from 2008 is Marvin will do what Marvin has always done: Let his play do the talking. I've watched him practice and I can tell you he looks great. Teammates like Dom Rhodes and Jeff Saturday say Marvin is angry, and looking to have an amazing season.

The real question then will be will the traditional hack media sources like ESPN and the Indy Star actually report his season, or will they ignore him in favor of more "entertaining" athletes.

You know, it's kind of funny sometimes.  We devote all sorts of time to talking about the special teams, the linebackers, and everything else.  While they're all important, when all is said and done, it all comes back to #18. 

Sure, Peyton's had some games where he hasn't been at his best and still gotten the W at the end of the day, and there's been other times where he's put on dazzling performances only to have it negated by poor play from the rest of his team.  But many more times than not, if Peyton is successful, so is the rest of the team.  As much as I love guys like Bob Sanders, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Marlin Jackson, Joseph Addai, Gary Brackett, no one has a greater impact week in and week out on whether this team wins or loses than Peyton Manning.

Maybe the previous paragraph is the most "well, duh" paragraph in the history of Stampede Blue, but I think it's important to remind ourselves from time to time that we have (arguably) one of the 5 greatest players of all-time playing for us this season.  With all of that said, this is going to be all I'm space I'm going to devote to Peyton in this preview, because we all know that we're going to get another spectacular season out of him like we do every season.  The start of the season might be a little more sluggish than what we've been used to, but Peyton is way too good to let a bursa sac keep him from playing at an elite level.

Now, as for my predictions and thoughts for what we can expect from everyone else...

Continue reading this post »

It's a simple question, and probably a pipe dream considering the salary cap, but Glenn still has some ability. The key for him is his health. It seems Dallas and Glenn are in the middle of a serious disagreement. Dallas might be wiling to part ways with Glenn, giving the Cowboys nobody at WR aside from Terrell Owens.

So, the question is, if the Colts could sign Glenn, would you want him?