Hope everyone is getting set for a fun and enjoyable Christmas, or perhaps you are currently enjoy Chanukaha, or getting ready for Kwanzaa, or just kicking back with a brew and enjoying the fact you get a day off even though you don't buy into all this holiday stuff.

Whatever you are planning, we at Stampede Blue hope it is fun. I spent last night wrapping more gifts and buying more holiday stuff for the place. We have a one bedroom apartment, so big decorations are not our thing: Small tree, a few lights, and some spiked egg nog. It's all good, now. All good. And what would make it even better is the return of the Stampede Blue Bullets:

• PFW's Dan Parr is now saying Peyton Manning is the 2007 NFL MVP. Having Peterson on the list right behind Manning is a joke, though. 8 fumbles, folks. The only other person who should get an MVP vote is Falcons QB Matt Ryan, and that should come from the Atlanta beat writer.
• Yes, yes, yes. The Titans are a collective team of jerks led by a big, pulsating jack ass of a head coach. We know, America. We know. We play them every year, twice. We know. The towel stomping was immature; the kind of thing you'd expect from some dumb rookie, not a 9 year veteran at LBer. But I think worse than the towel stomping is the pathetic and cowardly backtracking after the fact. Yes Keith, you did mean to disrespect the Steelers organization, their fans, and their players when you decided to wipe your feet on their symbol of team pride. Saying you didn't makes you look like an even bigger putz. I mean, if you are going to do something stupid like that, the only way to respond after the fact is to man up and own the action, not run and hide like a scared little boy.
  
• Jeff Fisher condoning Keith Bulluck's and LenDale White's stupidity means Fisher is just as big a douchebag as they are. Of course, the next day he plays both ends of the issue by calling the White's and Bulluck's actions "unnecessary." Again, total douche. Lost a lot of respect for Fisher, so much so that he no longer holds the title of NFL Ron Jeremy Look Alike. Mr. Jeremy is known among society as a short, ugly little man with a giant dingus. Jeff Fisher is just short and ugly, because no one with a big dingus would endorse the childish antics of the Titans this past Sunday. 
• Interesting article; totally and completely wrong, but interesting none the less. Would Marvin's numbers be down if Peyton Manning were not his QB? Yes. Would he stil have a better career than, say, Keyshawn Johnson? Yes. "Key" was a bust as a player because he was slow and lazy. Marvin has always been known as a hard worker, and he is still very fast at age 36. 
• Even Bob Kravitz thinks resting starters is smart. I feel dirty.
• More fallout from last week's Jags game from PFW:

  Poor tackling plagued Indianapolis throughout its come-from-behind victory over the Jaguars Thursday night, with defensive linemen, linebackers and defensive backs all guilty of failing to wrap up. The secondary looms as perhaps the biggest question mark on the defensive side of the ball. Keiwan Ratliff’s game-winning interception return for a touchdown masked the unit’s deficiencies against a listless Jaguars passing attack that looked exceptional. Tim Jennings, in particular, was picked on routinely. His lack of spatial awareness and instincts could hamper Indy in the postseason. Prior to the Jags, the Colts’ last three opponents’ all ranked among the league’s worst passing offenses, with the secondary’s last real test coming in Week 12 vs. the Chargers.

• Peter King thinks the Colts should push hard to sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the off-season. T.J. is 31 years old. Explain to me why Indy would dumb a butt load of money on another 30-plus year old WR when they already have Reggie Wayne, Gonzo, and Dallas Clark? Besides, I think Cincy will franchise him. Tip to AussieColtsFan.
  
• Clint Session has been the biggest surprise this year. I thought this kid would become Gilbert Gardner Jr. at SAM, but he has really brought it each and every week. Oh, and guess who cheered the loudest and told us that we'd gotten a "steal" last year when Indy selected Session? Terry. He's a big Pitt football guy, and raved about Session on draft day.
• Big Bill answers more questions.
• And finally, give some holiday love in the comments to Stampede Blue contributors shake n bake, mgrex03, JakeTheSnake, and part-time editor MasterRWayne. While you are at it, send a shout out to Trei Brundrett, Michael Lovitt, Pablo Mercado, Ryan Gantz. They are the creative and support tech team that made this beautiful SB Nation platform we work off of. They also maintain it. Happy holidays to all of you, gentlemen. 

Hope your spiked egg nog (or whatever it is you are drinking) tastes just as good as mine. Have a happy and safe holiday.

Oh, and before I get too drunk to stand, GO COLTS!

[UPDATE]: And for the ladies out there:

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

Sleepers:

• Chad Pennington:  209 passing, 1 TD/1 INT = 12 pts.  Although his 1 touchdown pass was pretty neat (flea flicker), not a good day overall for Pennington.  They did win at least.
  
• Leon Washington:  54 yds rush, 14 yds rec = 6 pts.  I was one week early on this pick.  The Jets put up 47 on the Rams, but none were by Washington.  And I lost by 5 points.
  
• Matt Jones:  62 yards = 6 pts.  Another 0-3 for my sleeper picks.  I figured I was playing it safe going against the Lions.  Porter and Williamson got the TDs though.
  

Busts:

• Peyton Manning: 240 yds passing, 3 TD = 27 pts.  Aww shucks, I got this wrong too.  I'm so disappointed.  Thanks Peyton for proving me wrong.  I'm sure he read this, and wanted to prove me wrong.
  
• Brian Westbrook: 26 yds rushing, 33 receiving = 5 pts. I got one!  Westbrook was shut down by the Giants defense.  I don't expect Westbrook to have similar numbers vs. Cincinnati this week.
  
• Andre Johnson: 66 yards = 6 pts.  Can we keep Johnson at these numbers this week too, please?.
  

My bonus pick of David Garrard was spot on.  238 yds passing, 2 TD, 10 yds rush = 22 pts.  Jacksonville doesn't lose to 2 winless teams in a row.  I'm not looking forward to Thanksgiving, watching the Lions get slaughtered by the Titans.

So I was 3 / 7 last week, and 38/68 for the season. All the teams have finished their byes, so your fantasy teams are fully stocked from now on.  Here are you fantasy nuggets for Week 11:

Sleepers:

• Matt Ryan vs. DEN:  Cpt. Intangibles has been playing quite well this year, and should continue that at home against the Broncos, who rank 26th against Fantasy QBs this season.
  
• Pierre Thomas vs. KC: The Chiefs are dead last against RB this season, and Brees has struggled as of late.  Expect the Saints to run more than normal, and Thomas to pick up those carries and yards.
  
• Bobby Engram vs. ARI:  Hasselbeck is back from injury, and Arizona is dead last against WR.  I'm looking for a nice game from Engram this week.
  

Busts:

• Tony Romo vs. WAS: Romo is also back from injury this week, playing a divisional game, on the road, against a defense ranked 5th against QBs.  Terry's not gonna like it, but Romo's gonna struggle.
  
• LaDainian Tomlinson vs. PIT:  This hasn't been the greatest year of LT to begin with, and the Steelers are #3 against RB this season.  No big week for LT.
  
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh vs. PHI: The Eagles have pounded their lousy opponents this season, and it should be the same Sunday afternoon against the Bengals.  They are also 6th best against WR this season.  Plus I have the Eagles D this week, and I need lots of points from them without my man Portis.
  

Bonus pick:  Jake Delhomme vs. DET. Delhomme was awful last week against the Raiders, but get the lowly Lions this week at home.  I'll go out on a limb and say he has a better week than 4 picks last week.

Weekly Derek Anderson "bust" pick:  I'm glad this is over.  The Browns play Monday Night in Buffalo.  Quinn should have another nice game, with it being blown at the end by his incompetent head coach.

We've had a couple weeks now to digest the draft, and the Colts have now finished both its Rookie Camp, as well as the full team Mini-Camp, and BBS has done a great job keeping us updated on all the goings-on from the weekend.  I thought I'd take a look at how in the world Mike Hart dropped as far as he did, luckily, right into the Colts lap at the end of the 6th Round.  The main reason, I believe, is that every GM in the league, save the very best, are always interested in finding "the hidden gem" of the draft.

I was reading through a Sports Illustrated from a couple weeks ago, and the back cover article by Selena Roberts was on a guy named Drew Boylhart, who is a contributor on The Huddle Report, which specializes in the draft.  His quote at the end of the article is spot on.  He says:

"I'm very surprised - and annoyed - at the number of small-college players picked ahead of good talent from larger schools.  It's almost as if scouts are saying, 'I can find this sleeper pick' and trying to make a name for themselves.  Such b.s."

This quote has Mike Hart's name all over it.  He is Michigan's all time leading rusher with over 5000 yards rushing, was a 4 year starter, and was UM's vocal leader, on and off the field.  He also was passed by multiple times by different teams who drafted RBs in the 5th and 6th round from much smaller schools.  Here's a list:

• Timothy Hightower - Richmond, 149 overall to Arizona:  ESPN thought he'd be a late round or undrafted pick, yet he goes halfway through Round 5.  Only started 20/35 games, averaging 4.7 yards/carry (less than Hart's 5.0 for his career).
• Marcus Thomas - UTEP, 166 overall to San Diego:  Scout had him rated as the #30 RB in the draft class, and he was the 14th one picked.  I see Hart being very comparable to Michael Turner, who just left the Chargers.  A.J. Smith trying to show off his "genius" with this one, as it doesn't look very good.
• Xavier Omon - NW Missouri St., 179 overall to Buffalo:  Offensive Player of the Year in DII, and the first RB to run for 1500 yards in each of his 4 years.  I can't argue with this pick too much.  He may end up being very good.

Two of these picks seem like the GM is trying to find the "hidden gem", rather than taking the proven back, Hart.  This phenomenon is not limited to RB.  Take Tennessee's pick of William Hayes, DE from Winston Salem St., with pick 103 in the 4th Round.  While watching the draft on the NFL Network, they had absolutely no information on this guy, and they traded up to draft him in the 4th round.  Jeff Fisher was interviewed later on, and he said, paraphrasing here, that some other team called him afterward and told him they were going to take Hayes in the next round.  I can't remember the team, but I'm thinking it was either the Chiefs or the Saints.  I'm wondering if he wasn't trying to save face with his fans, since clearly they could have gotten this guy much later in the draft.

I'm clearly not saying that taking a guy from a big school is much better than taking a guy from a small school.  There are clearly some great NFL players that come from small schools.  Mathis and Bethea are two examples from the Colts.  They were taken in the later rounds, and turned out to be Pro Bowl players.  I would only say this occurs in the 5, 6, and 7th rounds.  You don't see too many teams taking chances on guys earlier than that, so if a player is taken from a small school, chances are they could have played at a big time school.  However, there are many times that teams take flyers on the small school guys, and pass on proven players that have played against top level competition in college.  Take T.J Houshmanzedah for example.  He was a 7th round pick from Oregon State, the same year his OSU teammate Chad Johnson was drafted in the 2nd Round.  Here's a list of small school WRs taken before Houshmanzadeh in 2001 (All in the 5th Round):

I've only heard of one of these guys: McCants.  Teams were trying to find the "gem", when they could have had a proven WR, who ended up being an All-Pro player.  I hope Mike Hart ends up being for the Colts what Houshmanzadeh is for the Bengals.