NFLPLAYERS.COM
Follow NFL PLAYERS Fantasy ’09 all season long to see who the real NFL players are picking in fantasy football and who NFLPLAYERS.COM projects to win each weekly matchup.
NFLPLAYERS.COM Season Record: 11-16-1 (A rare fantasy tie in Week 7 keeps this record in limbo.)
Week 8 Game of the Week
Matt Forté (Optimus Prime) vs. Robbie Gould (Team Automatic)
Forté and Gould share the same fantasy league, zip code and locker room. If Matt is to win this week, they also will share the same pedestrian record of 4-4 in fantasy football. At least then they can commiserate together about how very average they have been as fantasy football owners.
Be sure to check out ESPN.com’s preview of this matchup:
ESPN Preview
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Position
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Matt Forté
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Robbie Gould
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Edge
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QB1
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Matt Schaub @ BUF
(302 yds, 2 TDs/1 INT)
22 pts
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Aaron Rodgers vs. MIN
(223 yds, 2 TDs/2 INTs)
16 pts
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Forté – Schaub could throw for 300 yards with his eyes closed and his arms tied behind his back, the ways things are going right now.
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QB2
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Jay Cutler vs. CLE
(295 yds, 2 TDs)
23 pts
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Joe Flacco vs. DEN
(209 yds, 2 TDs/1 INT)
18 pts
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Forté – Cutler is ready to feast on the Dawg Pound.
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RB1
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Chris Johnson vs. JAC
(91 rush yds, 20 rec. yds)
11 pts
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Maurice Jones-Drew @ TEN
(85 rush yds, 30 rec. yds, 2 TDs)
23 pts
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Gould – Sound the alarm! The Titans might need oxygen tanks by the time MJD is done stomping them on their home turf.
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RB2
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Steve Slaton @ BUF
(65 rush yds, 31 rec. yds, 1 TD)
15 pts
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Brandon Jacobs @ PHI
(81 yds, 1 TD)
14 pts
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Forté – This matchup is as even as they come, but we’ll give the slight edge to Slaton, due to matchup and versatility.
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RB/WR
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Darren Sproles vs. OAK
(25 rush yds, 40 rec. yds)
6 pts
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Miles Austin vs. SEA
(101 yds, 1 TD)
16 pts
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Gould – I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more, just to pick up Miles Austin from the waiver wire.
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WR1
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Larry Fitzgerald vs. CAR
(120 yds, 1 TD)
18 pts
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Reggie Wayne vs. SF
(70 yds, 1 TD)
13 pts
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Forté – Fitz is the equivalent of a skyscraper with wings. Dude is huge and he can fly. Cover that!
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WR2
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Eddie Royal @ BAL
(43 yds)
4 pts
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Sidney Rice @ GB
(75 yds)
7 pts
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Gould – All aboard the Rice train. With 312 receiving yards combined the past two games, how can you not be impressed this youngster’s breakout year?
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TE
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Greg Olsen vs. CLE
(44 yds, 1 TD)
10 pts
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Jason Witten vs. SEA
(70 yds)
7 pts
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Forté – Witten and Olsen have both underperformed this year from a fantasy perspective. We’ll take the guy with the easier matchup.
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K
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R. Gould vs. CLE
(3 FGs, 3 XPs)
13 pts
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N. Kaeding vs. OAK
(2 FGs, 4 XPs)
10 pts
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Forté – The ultimate conundrum for Gould: Make FGs to help your real team, but at the same time hurt your fantasy team. Life is rough!
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DEF
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NYG @ PHI
(24 PA, 4 sacks, 1 INT)
6 pts
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PHI vs. NYG
(27 PA, 4 sacks, 1 INT)
6 pts
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PUSH – Really depends on who you think is going to win this hard-fought NFC East division battle.
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Total Points
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128
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117
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Forté improves to 4-4 and Gould drops to 4-4. Nice!
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In Other Week 8 picks …
Week 8 Golden Nugget: In fantasy football, new names and faces emerge on a weekly basis. Injuries create opportunity, and the reality is that there isn’t a player in the NFL who isn’t talented enough to produce. This week, some names that jump out as speculative pickups include LeSean McCoy, Beanie Wells, Alex Smith and Jamaal Charles. Beanie shows the most upside of the bunch, so if you’re hitting the waivers, make him your No. 1 waiver claim for the week.
In one corner stands Dave Stasinski, fantasy football aficionado, who comes into the week riding a four-game winning streak and showing signs of taking over the entire league. In the other corner, weighing in at 230 lbs., stands Cato June, the defending champ of this very league. In what will prove to be a slug-it-out type of contest, there is one player who will make the difference: Drew Brees. June is also without stud Tom Brady so we expect Stasinski will roll to his fifth straight ‘W.’
First off, our sympathies go out to Leon Washington on his season-ending injury. Washington was a dynamic and elusive force for the Jets offense and for fantasy owners alike. Here’s to “Little Leon” bouncing back and being better than ever. In the meantime, he’s got a first-place fantasy team to take care of. He takes on Ronnie Brown’s Warphins in Week 8, and we see Leon taking out his frustrations in a big victory to maintain his perch atop the league standings.
In a matchup of the Williams boys, Roy Williams takes on DeAngelo Williams. In this one we give the edge to DeAngelo because of his trio of RBs: Frank Gore, Kevin Smith and a man he may be familiar with: DeAngelo Williams himself. DeAngelo carries himself to victory!
Come back next week to see the results of the picks, as well as real video blog updates from the guys in the league. Click
here to see the most recent league videos (trust us … you’ll like ‘em!)