Okay kids, it’s prediction time. As I wrote earlier this week, I love these match ups. I love the idea of one side of the bracket featuring the two teams with the most title game appearances (Robio/Griff) going against two teams that have both struggled to turn regular season success into a mug-worthy season.
Let’s get started.
P. Manning (Griff) > M. Ryan (Robio)
It’s time for Ryan to deliver. If not, I’m done. I can loss by 300+ points here.
M. Lynch (Robio) > MJD/Spiller (Griff)
MJD is questionable, so can Spiller life up to his preseason hype?
K. Moreno (Robio) > A. Brown (Griff) Brown has been a God-send, but Moreno has three straight 200+ games.
L. Fitzgerald (Griff) = K. Allen (Robio) We’ll call this one a tie. Fitzgerald is the better pair of hands, but he’s got a tougher match up. Allen can be inconsistent, but the Broncos D gives up a lot of fantasy points to receivers.
A. Brown (Griff) > H. Douglas (Robio) Brown has been one of the best receivers over the last month. Douglas has not.
J. Graham (Robio) = V. Davis (Griff) I have the advantage over everyone in this league at TE, except this week against Griff.
S. Hauschka (Griff) > R. Succop (Robio) The Giants give up the 12th most points to kickers, the Raiders 21st, advantage Seattle kicker.
Bills DST (Robio) > Buccaneers (Griff) In reality, the Jaguars offense is not much of a pushover anymore (Bills opponent), but it’s still better than Tampa against the 49ers.
DEEP THOUGHTS: A while ago, this was the exact time of match up I feared. One against a elite quarterback and they get no more elite than Peyton Manning. I shipped off Demaryius Thomas for Tom Brady. Now Brady has been brilliant for me, yet I’m actually benching him this week as he faces the Dolphins without Gronkowski. I don’t like benching, but I just can’t ignore Ryan’s match up against the Redskins pass defense.
Yet, will it matter? Manning should own the Chargers and in what should be a offensive battle. Since the Chargers can score too, Manning will continue to pass all game long, so we could be looking at a 400-yard, 4-5 touchdown game.
As good as my squad has been, they’re not good enough to overcome a 500-600 point effort by Manning.
WORTHLESS PREDICTION: Griff finally gets his playoff win over me, 1,788 – 1,512.
D. Brees (Rob) > T. Romo (Rich) This is the one spot where Masterson really has the advantage.
L. McCoy (Rich) > S. Vereen (Rob) Against the Vikings, I could see McCoy getting 150 yards and 2 TDs. Verneen could match it (through receptions), but he can also score 50 fantasy points.
D. Murray (Rich) > B. Tate (Rob) I will give the Cowboys some create, they’ve tried to run the ball lately. Good news for DeMarco owners.
J. Gordon (Rob) > R. White (Rich) I suspect Roddy White has his best game of the year, but it’s still won’t be better than Josh Gordon, i.e. the best receiver in football over the last month.
V. Jackson (Rob) = R. Cooper (Rich) Normally, I’d be all about Vincent Jackson, but he’s facing a stout 49ers D, while Cooper gets to run wild through a Vikings secondary.
J. Cameron (Rob) = J. Thomas (Rich) Cameron finally broke out of a mini-slump, but was it a fluke or was it a sign of the times? Thomas on the other hand has been mister steady all season long.
M. Prater (Rob) > P. Dawson (Rich) Prater should probably produce about six extra points and two field goals. Dawson, about half that.
Panthers DST (Rich) > Bengals (Rob) Huge advantage for Calderon. Yes, the Jets scored 37 last week, but they’ll find life a lot tougher on the road against one of the league’s best D’s.
DEEP THOUGHTS
Can Drew Brees light it up on the road against the Rams? That’s going to decide this game. It’s a dome, so that’s the good news, but the Rams D has been pretty solid at home, shutting down folks like Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck.
Calderon has Romo going against a weak Packers D, but Romo really hasn’t had a superb fantasy game since the game against the Broncos. For Rich to walk away with a win, he’ll rely on the week’s top running back duo…McCoy/Murray and the Panthers D (for the second straight week Rob gets to watch his Jets face his fantasy opponents D). I can see the running backs combining for 300+ total yards and four touchdowns and I suspect the Panthers will force four turnovers this week. With those numbers, I’m putting my money on the Dick’s to win (to the satisfaction of Masterson).
WORTHLESS PREDICTION: Calderon, 1,620 – 1,588.
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