Nasty Thoughts : CBSSports.com Blogs

The future of the WR

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:46:00 EST

When you think of wide receivers right now, you probably think of a few guys by the names of Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall and Steve Smith. Some of these guys are getting up there in the age category and undoubtedly won't be playing at a high level for much longer (relatively speaking). As I watch college football these days, I'm starting to notice a few wide receivers that could truly stand out in the NFL as the elite in the future. One of these guys are on my Alabama Crimson Tide, the other is on the #2 Texas Tech behemoth. You probably know who I'm talking about, but if not, their names are Julio Jones and Michael Crabtree. Both are dynamic options for their wide receivers and both have made game winning plays when it counts in conferences that don't leave room for error.

My Midway Fantasy Awards

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:56:38 EST

Fantasy MvP RB: Matt Forte

-Forte has been nothing if not consistent throughout the entire season as it pertains to fantasy scoring. Personally, I've only sat him once and that was the one week he scored less than 10 points. I have given him the MvP so far because he has not only done well for his owners but he has also surprised people by doing so. Clinton Portis is a close runner-up but he was generally drafted in the first round and his success should have come as no surprise.

MvP WR: Anquan Boldin

-We all knew that Boldin is a great receiver but there was definitely a large question mark going into this season. The Cardinals were lacking a starting quarterback going into the season and Larry Fitzgerald was there to potentially leach value from the younger Boldin. Despite the week off due to the head injury, Boldin has put up not only consistent numbers, but has also had many a huge day over 20 points. This has been a guy I haven't wanted to go against, considering I don't have a team with him on it. That was my bad for sure. Coming in close, for me, is Greg Jennings; the guy was a big gamble, considering he over achieved last year, but now he has shown he can do that job every week.

Bengals, Fantasy and Hines Ward

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:17:39 EDT

Okay, I don't want to spend too much time talking about my Bengals loss to the Steelers. I just don't think they are worth the effort right now but a few things do need to be mentioned before moving on. First of all, we lost Keith Rivers for the year to a jaw injury handed to him by Hines "I like men" Ward. Chances are he will get fined for the hit because he did lead with his helmet, and he should. It was a blind side block and that sort of thing can injure both the players. At the same time, I think that the fact that Ward went through the rest of the game without the Bengals trying to hurt him shows how the Bengals aren't playing as a team and that they have no heart. At least Cedric Benson went out there and laid out Troy Polamalu.

Bengals to Hell in a Handbasket.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:22:07 EDT

So, our season is absolutely sunk at this point as Bengals fans. It's been a rough couple of week. Fortunately I had to work last weekend so I got to miss the mess with Brett Favre and the Jets. At least I played the match-up with Thomas Jones and that paid off (I still lost by one point... I have been getting seriously unlucky match-ups. I almost lead the league in total points but I'm still 2-4. I've had to put up more than 100 points each week in order to win and even lost one with with 102... F'n A.) So, having the Bengals being so awful, and having Carson Palmer with problems I thought it was appropriate that the Week 7 Mayhem Question regarded how you would change your team this week for the immediate and future. Here was my response:

Nasty Thoughts - Bengals/Browns 09/27

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:28:29 EDT

With about a week behind us since the Bengals nearly beat the defending Superbowl champion New York Giants, we must consider what is to come tomorrow. There has been a lot of talk around the league about the Browns and Bengals, none of which has been good. In fact, last week ESPN did a segment begging Ohio sports to improve for their fans. It's a tough life, but at least we can't be accused of being fair weather supporters. Keeping in mind our near victory last week, let's run down the game from a fantasy football perspective.

Bengals:

Carson Palmer - Palmer should have an effective day here. The Browns have been giving up points all over the field, both rushing and passing. As long as the offensive line stays relatively intact, look for the aerial attack to emerge. After seeing how the running game faired in over-time last week, I would also expect this to increase the passing game. Look for Carson to throw early, and then open the running lanes later. 2 TDs, 250 yds, INT

From Ocho to Cinco - Bengals Thoughts

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 7:30:33 EDT

My Reds are in the garbage right now so I'm looking towards football season hardcore. This is a position I'm used to consider my beloved baseball team hasn't treated me to the playoffs in a long long time but it's still tough. Finally, relief is here on Thursday as the NFL regular season kicks off. I could care less who wins but, regardless, it's regular season football and I have fantasy football interests. Come Sunday, my Bengals start their season against the Baltimore Ravens.

As I'm sure everyone in Cincinnati is aware, the Bengals are a bit of a question mark this season. Even before Chad Ocho Cinco hurt himself in the pre-season, I didn't have high hopes for this team. Plus, with the addition of Chris Henry I am just perplexed. Coach Marvin Lewis was very clear in his distaste for Henry and the ownership went behind his back to add him again. That sort of action from the head office doesn't bode well for the cooperation of this team. That's just the behind the scenes situation.

From the Land of Cleves

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:04:50 EDT

So, I've been up in Cleveland because my g/f's family has been having problems and I've been helping them out. This has left me fairly out of the loop with the Reds but apparently I should stay here. The Reds went on a 4 game tear against the National which was definitely a much needed scenario. Now the Reds are looking at being relatively close to the .500 mark again. Last time I think I got my hopes up a little bit too much and I may have jinxed us. I apologize for that. Still, we have a tough road schedule ahead of us. The Cubs have cooled off a bit lately but they are still the Cubs and the Brewers are looking to have one of the most deadly one two punches in baseball with Ben Sheets and C.C. Sabathia. That's not going to prove to be easy at all.

Are you KIDDING me?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:42:25 EDT

I'm not gonna lie, I had some serious hopes for my Reds this season. We finally looked like we had a few things worked out. Last year the story was that we had decent offense but had awful starting and closing pitching. In the off-season we acquired Francisco Cordero and Edison Volquez for Josh Hamilton. Hamilton was going to be missed but he wasn't nearly as good last year as he is now so I thought it was a great idea. Plus, we had some young guns like Cueto coming up to round things out. Good news on the pitching front, and since I thought we had offense covered I was pumped. A team that could contend? NICE! Plus, the word was that the Cards, Astros, Cubs and Pirates weren't going to be that great so we had an even better chance of running away with it and finally making the play offs...