This was the worst sports weekend of my life since early 2001 when the Ravens destroyed the Giants in the Super Bowl. (To add insult to injury, I just wrote a 1000-word blog post that got deleted when I tried to submit it, and I couldn't retrieve it).
For starters, the Yankees lost via Mariano Rivera blown save - which also means a blown save and earned runs for four of my six fantasy teams.
The Giants not only lost but did their best to prove beyond any doubt they're not serious contenders.
I went 2-4 or 3-3 in my fantasy leagues, pending Monday night's game.
I went 7-7 against the spread, pending Monday night's game, i.e., no good news there.
I lost with Dallas in Survivor (more on that in "East Coast Offense" and this week's "Survivor" column), but suffice it to say while I'm obviously disappointed to have picked the wrong team, I stand by the methodology/process, and a poor result does not invalidate its logic.
Okay, that said here are my abbreviated Week 2 Observations:
Right now, the Giants simply cannot run- or pass-block. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are good, but they're not that good. That lack of run blocking renders Brandon Jacobs totally useless because he can't make people miss and needs to gain momentum to do what he does best - punishing the defense. It compromises Ahmad Bradshaw, too, but at least he can create his own opportunities. If the Giants defense and run-blocking don't improve, Eli Manning might top last year's career numbers, especially now that Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Steve Smith have another year of experience. DeMaryius Thomas' big game despite missing most of training camp illustrates yet again that concern about using rookie receivers is overblown - as long as their teams are committed to getting them targets. Dez Bryant and Mike Williams (TB) should be lineup staples, and Thomas could be as well if has has another nine-target game next week. Bruce Gradkowski is a decent NFL quarterback. Jason Campbell is not. Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy have some value now. Donovan McNabb is still a top-10 fantasy quarterback. The Vikings will trade for Vincent Jackson or some other available receiver. They're pot committed after signing Brett Favre and can't take the chance that Sidney Rice won't be back, or that by the time he's able to help they're out of contention. Jamaal Charles is getting screwed, but I imagine things will change once the Chiefs start losing. Michael Turner and Ryan Mathews lost 2-3 TDs each Sunday, which they'll never get back. Jason Snelling would be a top-12 back should Turner suffer a serious injury. The Steelers defense with Troy Polamalu is the best in the NFL, better even than the Jets'. LaDainian Tomlinson looked quicker than he has in a couple seasons, and as long as he remains that way, could easily be a top-20 back running behind that line. The question is how much spring he'll have in his step after he accumulates a few games' worth of hits on his 31-year old carcass.
