Fantasy Football

So, we promised to do a post yesterday, previewing last night’s game…and of course we never did. Frankly, I can’t figure out why anyone would read this site based on all the empty promises we throw around here. And in this instance it wasn’t that we were too busy or tired or anything else, we just forgot that we made the promise.

But a recap of it is almost as good, right? I mean, it might not help you at all with your roster, and the game was relatively boring so there isn’t much to add, but maybe it can lead into a season preview for the two teams. Alright, probably not. But its getting late in the morning and this is what we decided on. Go vote or something.

Idiots all across the country looked to this game to determine the outcome of the presidential race, as the outcome of the Redskins game the week before the election has coincided consistently who was elected. This has usurped “the curse” for the Red Sox as the longest suffering conversation piece in the sports lexicon for yours truly. In fact, any sort of conversation about sports being effected by karma or having some greater meaning tends to great on our nerves. The Red Sox didn’t win a series for damn near ninety years or whatever because Bill Buckner was clumsy, the Redskins link to the presidential election has too many qualifiers on it. You could probably find hundreds of instances in which X has happened instead of Y, thus this party was elected to the white house.

Up until 2004, when the Redskins lost their last home game that meant the incumbent party lost the election, and if they won, the incumbent party stayed. The premise that it has to be a home game means that the last game could have been up to a month before the first Tuesday in November (if you include a bye week). So the argument is, if the Redskins had lost at home at some point in the past month and it happened to be the last home game before the election, then the challenging party took the presidency. Wow, it must be fate! This even spilled over into one of our favorite television shows.

Yeah, until it isn’t because it’s something that someone sought out so they could write an article about it and everyone would talk about how astonishing it is. We need someone to find another tie in, particularly in an arena that I don’t give a shit about. Maybe some genius can find some correlation between Dancing With The Stars and who wins the White House, so we don’t have to hear everyone mention this under the impression they are being original.

As for the game itself, there wasn’t much to be said about the Redskins, who looked to be running on fumes last night. Portis ended his string of 125+ yard games, falling well below the milestone with only 51. Jason Campbell streak of games without an interception ended, and in colossal fashion with two ill-timed picks. Sure, you could accredit the glaring shortcomings to the Steelers, who still have a top five defense (we place them behind the Giants, Eagles and Titans); but the Skins just looked…inefficient. And tired, and exactly what everyone expected this team to look like at the start of the season.

The Steelers do not have any cheerleaders, the Redskins have some of the better in the league, thus your picture choice.

What I’m saying is, should you have Santana Moss, Jason Campbell or Clinton Portis, do not be surprised if their numbers start to depreciate. Especially Moss, who even after yet another down week is still second leading fantasy receiver behind Anquan Boldin. Portis is on pace for 400 carries and Campbell has been playing beyond himself ever since the Giants game that kicked off the season. In short, expect the Eagles to finish second in the division.

On the other side of the field, the Steelers look prime to challenge Tennessee for the AFC representation in the Superbowl. Additionally, do not be surprised if Leftwich is acquired by someone who has Tony Romo in your fantasy league. With a sound offensive scheme, several weapons and a qualified coach, expect him to put up some decent numbers as he has less pressure on him than any backup in recent history.

It was a night of not only departures for the Steelers, but for returns as well. The aforementioned Leftwich (who wasn’t even on a team at the beginning of the season), Santonio Holmes came back from his two week weed smoking hiatus to grab a touchdown and Parker came back from injury to get in the endzone with 71 yards rushing to boot. All contributed to a big Steelers win, on the road in a hostile Monday night venue. If you asked us to pick an AFC representative for Tampa in early February, Pittsburgh would be them.

But in all, it was a relatively boring game. Pittsburgh dominated on both sides of the ball and were very opportunistic like only a hateable team like the Steelers can be, and Washington looked like they might be end for a longer than expected eight weeks. It’s a shame, because Washington might not wear those spiffy all burgandy uniforms again for a good while.

Back with top five surprise performers from week nine later.