It's worth spending a couple of moments to preempt the inevitable discussion of Adrian Peterson as this year's NFL MVP, or even the league's best running back. It's true, after his fine performance against the Packers yesterday, Peterson now leads in one important category: rushing yards. An impressive feat to be sure. But how do his numbers stack up to other runningbacks around the league Clinton Portis?

Well, let's go back to those rushing yards. Peterson has carried the ball 206 times for 1,015 yards (4.927 yards per carry); Portis, 200 for 995 yards (4.975 yards per carry). Most sports websites will round Peterson's down to 4.9 and Portis's up to 5.0, but the difference is only an extra 1.72 inches per carry for Portis, not statistically significant at any reasonable sensitivity level, even when ignoring potential measurement error effects (officials spotting the ball imprecisely). Bottom line, Peterson rushed for 20 more yards on 6 more carries. Ho hum. Point reluctantly goes to Peterson, but only so the end tally appears somewhat impartial.

Touchdowns: 7 to 7. ...Next.

Fumbles: Peterson has 4, including 3 recovered by the opposing defense; Portis has 1, also lost. Point goes to CP.

Versatility: Both players have made minor contributions in the passing game. Portis's 150 yards top Peterson's 98, and actually put him over the top when it comes to total yards (1,145 to 1,113). Oh, and "not everyone knows this, but Portis is the best pass protecting RB blocker in the league." Point goes to CP.

Match-ups - the coup de grâce. I don't know of a single coherent argument that the NFC North is as tough of a division as the NFC East, so the previous comparisons greatly benefit Peterson (although not to the same extent as comparing Babe Ruth to others like Hank Aaron). So let's set aside every game these two backs have played - except for their shared opponents:

Clinton Portis: 45 rushing attempts for 222 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no fumbles. Peterson: 46 rushing attempts for 143 yards, no touchdowns, and 2 fumbles lost. Point goes to CP.

Final Tally: Portis 3, Peterson 1.

At the end of week 3, the NFC East is 8-0 in non-division games.   Not counting losses to the division, the fallen opponents are collectively 7-6, including two division leaders.  Here's the list, with non-NFC East results in parentheses (NFC in bold):

Arizona* (2-0)

Green Bay* (2-0)

Pittsburgh (2-0)

New Orleans (1-1)

St. Louis (x2) (0-1)

Cincinnati (0-2)

Cleveland (0-2)

* Division leader

This is the road map to 3 teams in the playoffs...

A quick one.

Deadspin's always entertaining, especially when Unsilent Majority is writing about the Redskins (or the Terps).  His Skins seasons preview today is certainly worth linking to.

Bristol Palin could give birth to Barak [sic] Obama's baby at L'Enfant Plaza and all anybody would want to talk about is Colt Brennan's viability as a gunslinging NFL quarterback.

Enjoy.

Yes, I know. "Firstgameofthepreseasonandplayingagainstthesecondandthirdstringdefenses." But, putting that aside, Colt Brennan was masterful.

To put Brennan's numbers (9-10 for 123 and 2 TDs) into perspective, here's the box score of Jason Campbell's first preseason game. Ouch.

Entirely to create controvery where there is none, I say... Colt, lock and load!

Folks, I'm wrapping up a M.A. in Economics, which involves putting the finishing touches on a master's thesis.  It also means that I haven't had any free time to post on the site, or do much of anything else in my free time.  It'll all be worth it in the long run, but I digress.

The point of the post: I don't have time to host / be the commissioner for the 2nd season of the HHFFL.  Any volunteers? 

Anyone know what the deal is with Erin Henderson not getting drafted?  The Redskins need to sign the kid, unless he's somehow kept his eligiblity and will return to Maryland next year.

Mel Kiper, Jr. had him as a lock for the fourth round, but he just kept dropping and dropping.  If you don't know about his specific case, what are the rules for college eligiblity?  I know they are forfeitted if you hire an agent, but is this also the case for entering the draft?

Redskins trade the #21 overall pick to Atlanta for... ???

Welcome news to this fan, but perhaps I should wait for the details.

WILD SPECULATION: Redskins trade for both of Atlanta's 2nd round picks!

#2: Washington Trades for Atlanta's 1st round pick in 2010 and the rights to Michael Vick.

Part of the Sammy Baugh fan club series and complete with tacky music.

Todd Collins (4-0)
QB Rating of 106.4.
67/105 passing (63.7%) for 888 yards (8.5 Y/A) with 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
Sacked 7 times for 47 yards, 4 fumbles (2 lost).

Jason Campbell (5-7)
QB Rating of 77.6.
250/417 passing (60.0%) for 2700 yards (6.5 Y/A) with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Sacked 21 times for 110 yards, 13 fumbles (8 lost)
Also added 14.2 rushing yards per game, often in key situations.

Other options: Mark Brunnell (goes to church with Joe Gibbs), Sam Hollenbach (2006 Champs Sports Bowl MVP), Clinton Portis (158.3 QB Rating this season, would make for a very mobile quarterback), or Antwaan Randle El (threw a touchdown pass in Super Bowl XL).  Oh, and Jeff George is probably still looking for a team.

I'm off to watch the game - someone's turn to take over.

As I'm leaving, Adrian Peterson just fumbled on what should have been the last play of the second half... er.... WTF?

Brees throws an interception, then Tillman drops the ball at the 30, which is recovered by the Saints.

With two seconds left in the half, Gramatica nails a 48 yarder, and breaks both of his legs in a celebratory outburst.

Just a quickie...

Today against Chicago, David Patten has 2 catches for 19 yards - twice as many as he had in five games for the Washington last year.  Through the season, he has another 50 receptions for 753 yards - more than any Redskin receiver (counting Cooley).

I'm not exactly sure what this means, but he's giving me the same feeling that Walt Harris did last season.  Harris recorded all six of his career sacks soon after leaving for the 49ers, while playing significantly better pass coverage than in D.C.

Any thoughts on Patten, Harris, or others?

I just rode on an Orange line metro car full of Redskins fans, and nearly burst into tears when I got off to transfer to the Red line, heading to my parents' house instead of staying on until FedEx Field.  In a couple of hours, I'll join friends at a local sports bar for the big game.  Until then, I'll be watching the Chicago - New Orleans game, which (discounting ties) is one half of the Redskins' backup plan for entering the playoffs:

Minnesota loss and a New Orleans loss... so LETS GO BEARS!

Congratulations to "SeanTaylorEatsBabies" for winning the inaugural season of the Hogs Haven Fantasy Football League, despite entering the playoffs with a lackluster 6-7 record.  All of the big dogs (paloffs, myself and Errant Paintballs) flopped, allowing Half Man Half Beast - the last seed in the playoffs with a 5-8 record - to come in second.

Final standings below the fold. right here:

1. SeanTaylorEatsBabies 9-7
   
2. Half Man Half Beasts 7-9
   
3. paloffs 14-2
   
4. Errant Paintballs 12-4
   
5. SeanTaylorAteBabies 13-3
   
6. Number Twenty One 9-7
   
7. Brownskins 7-9
   
8. 70 Chip 6-10

(#1) paloffs def. (#8) 70 Chip 128.40 to 107.57

No suprise here, other than 70 chip making this competitive... must have been a trap game?  paloffs Tom Brady has been dominant all season, which leaves us with the question: why does Belichick hate the HHFL?

(#7) Half Man Half Beasts def. (#2) SeanTaylorAteBabies 133.15 to 115.45

Interestingly, my 115.45 would have been enough points to beat Half Man Half Beasts weeks one through thirteen.  None of that matters now, as this is week fourteen, and HMHB's band of rag-tag misfits are playing for keeps.  (Jesus, did I really lose to a bunch of second- and third-stringers?)

(#5) SeanTaylorEatsBabies def. (#4) Number Twenty One 104.67 to 78.83

Sean Taylor versus Sean Taylor... Guess who won?

(#3) Errant Paintballs def. (#6) Brownskins 77.52 to 61.92

Errant Paintballs decided that the best way to ensure victory was to start a kicker.  Josh Brown scored 3 field goals and tapped in an extra point to make mince meat of the Brownskins.

This, from The Onion sports page:

Report: NFL Had Previously Warned Sean Taylor About Spending Quiet Evenings Alone At Home

MIAMI--Immediately after Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died from gunshot wounds sustained when an unknown intruder broke into his Florida mansion and assaulted Taylor, NFL officials announced that they had warned the Pro Bowler against indulging in such risky behavior as sleeping quietly in his own home. "We communicated to Mr. Taylor several times that his lifestyle, including his insistence on living in a high-crime city and associating with such known troublemakers as NFL players, was potentially dangerous," a statement from the league's legal department read in part. "Although we are greatly saddened by Mr. Taylor's death, we feel we have lived up to our responsibilities in this matter." Following the announcement of Taylor's death, spokesmen for the league reached out to all NFL players and warned them of the risks of doing absolutely anything whatsoever.

Well, too soon?

Guess which website pops up second on Google's search results for "like the back of a Volkswagen?"  That's right, it's Hogs Haven.

Here's the post, in case you missed it.

Division games in bold.  I bet I get at least 8 out of 14 right.  The big sucker picks this week are New England and Indianapolis - neither of them will beat the spread.

HogsHaven does in no way promote gambling, even for people who live in Las Vegas and can do so legally.  O:-)

NOS (-3) over CAR
JAC (-2) over KAN
WAS (-3) over DET
ATL over TEN (-8)
MIA over HOU (-5.5)
SEA over PIT (-6)
CLE over NEP (-16.5)
ARI (-3.5) over STL
NYJ over NYG (-3.5)
TAM over IND (-9.5)
DEN (-1) over SDC
BAL (-3.5) over SFX
GBP (-3) over CHI
BUF over DAL (-10)

One of Yahoo!'s advertisers displays paloffs as the "Heineken Light Premium Player of the Week," instead of premium GM, owner, coach, or any other word that would make sense. So, congratulations (?) to him for that distinction, and for leading the league with 109.05 points with a comeback win on Monday Night Football thanks to a 41.85 point performance by the New England Patriots. paloffs moves to within a point of first place overall.

This week also featured a matchup of two undefeated teams, with Burgundy and Gold again squeaking out a win, this time over Errant Paintballs. Early on, it looked like Tony Romo's (QB, EP) league-leading 35.55 points would be enough to win, but ended up falling short after the rest of the team decided to take the week off.

In other news, kudos to Donovan McNabb for following up a 381 yard, 4 touchdown performance by setting an NFL-record 12 sacks - is it time to call in Kolb? Notably, McNabb still scored positive fantasy points, with 1.2. This was no consolation to Fleft's Freaks, who still lost to 70 Chip and Brett Favre, who also set some sort of NFL record. Can't quite put my finger on which one that was.

Here are the standings:

4-0:

1. Burgundy and Gold (457.46)
2. paloffs (456.65)

3-1:

3. Errant Paintballs (411.22)
4. Short & Curlies (319.78)

2-2:

5. SeanTaylorEatsBabies (398.01)
6. 70 Chip (368.77)
7. Brees is Killing Me! (343.70)
8. Brownskins (336.55)

1-3:

8. Brit'Skins (332.30)
9. Fleft's Freaks (305.53)

0-4:

11. MC Hammers (282.98)
12. JustinU804nDem (237.75)

This has got to be brief, because I have an exam in just a couple of minutes...

The big news this week was BnG holding on to first place simply because he faced Chocolate Rain (who was doing his best Notre Dame impression). Credit where credit's due, paloffs just blew up the HHFFL scoring record, amassing 153.85 points after Tom Brady, Roy Williams, and Ronnie Brown went off.

Free tissues for Fleft's Freaks, who lost with the second highest point total this week, largely due to a great performance by the "best black quarterback in the NFL," Donovan McNabb.

Here are the standings:

Another week of fantasy football, another week with Burgundy and Gold at the top of the leaderboard... step it up, guys. Here are the results (full standings below the fold).

Burgundy and Gold def. 70 Chip

• Final Score: 140.32 to 81.42
• Key Player: Carson Palmer threw six touchdown passes... to your mother.

SeanTaylorEatsBabies def. Errant Paintballs

• Final Score: 123.25 to 108.72
• Key Player: We're all disappointed that Chad Johnson hasn't done the Soulja Boy dance in the endzone. Maybe he needs an instructional video?

Chocolate Rain def. Brownskins

• Final Score: 111.47 to 92.37
• Key Player: André "3000" Johnson gave his left knee for this victory.

paloffs def. Short & Curlies

• Final Score: 105.00 to 72.62
• Key Player: It's almost as if Tom Brady knew what defense curlyr was calling...

Brit'Skins def. MC Hammers

• Final Score: 102.28 to 76.50
• Key Player: Garbage points from Steve Smith's 74 yard TD reception iced this one.

Fleft's Freaks def. JustinU804nDem

• Final Score: 82.45 to 78.73
• Key Player: Donovan McNabb, for overcoming the psychologically damaging boos and jeers of a hostile home crowd and leading the Freaks to victory.

Continue reading this post »

I got some grief from Justin804 for my power rankings, but overall I think I did the best job of anyone so far.  Here was my pre-season top 10:

1. Colts (2-0)
   
2. Patriots (2-0)
   
3. Chargers (1-1) lost to Patriots
   
4. Redskins (1-0)
   
5. Ravens (1-1) lost to Bengals
   
6. 49ers (2-0)
   
7. Bears (1-1) lost to Chargers
   
8. Broncos (2-0)
   
9. Seahawks (1-1) lost to Cardinals
   
10. Steelers (2-0)

The 2-0 teams that I missed are: Dallas (I had them ranked #32), Houston, Detroit, Green Bay.  Despite the 2-0 record, I don't think any of those teams really deserve to be on the top 10.  If I were to redo my list today, knowing what I know now, Seattle would get dropped, Cincinnati would be added, and a lot of shuffling would take place, but the teams would be very similar.  Here are my week 3 power rankings:

1. Patriots (2-0)
   
2. Colts (2-0)
   
3. Redskins (1-0) (2-0 after tonight)
   
4. Broncos (2-0)
   
5. Steelers (2-0)
   
6. 49ers (2-0)
   
7. Bears (1-1)
   
8. Chargers (1-1)
   
9. Ravens (1-1)
   
10. Cincinnati (1-1)

But here's where the gloating takes place:

uhhhh...

Ring-ring?  Where are the Saints, B&G...they are my favorite to at least go to the super Bowl this season.  If the running game can match JC's passer rating this preseason (like 102 or something) then we will be there instead...of course, JC would have to continue playing at a high level.

by JustinU804 on Thu Sep 06, 2007 at 03:09:35 PM EDT

Where are the Saints, Justin?  ;)

Week one ends with Burgundy and Gold setting a Hogs Haven Fantasy Football League all-time scoring record of 142.29 points... The TexSkins (with his 79.60 points and week 1 loss) surmised that this was due to his drafting first. As it turns out, even if BNG benched LaDainian Tomlinson, leaving that roster spot blank, he still would have finished in first place.

Another highlight of the week was our lone Eagles fan, Fleft's Freaks, scoring a measly 52.68, which was almost as bad as Philly's showing against the Packers on Sunday.

Without further adieu, here are the results:

Burgundy and Gold (1-0) def. JustinU804nDem (0-1)

• Final Score: 142.29 - 67.29
• Key player: Plaxico Burress went off for 144 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.

Errant Paintballs (1-0) def. MC Hammers (0-1)

• Final Score: 119.90 - 56.02
• Key player: Cowgirls QB threw the ball to his suicidal wide receiver a couple of times.

Brownskins (1-0) def. 70 Chip (0-1)

• Final Score: 95.93 - 90.98
• Key player: Jon Kitna (still plays?) torched the Raiders for 289 yards and 3 TDs (and only 2 ints).

SeanTaylorEatsBabies (1-0) def. Chocolate Rain (0-1)

• Final Score: 95.65 - 79.60
• Key player: Randy Moss is back! 183 yards and a score against... oh, does it really count if he did this against the Jets?

paloffs (1-0) def. Brit'Skins (0-1)

• Final Score: 88.75 to 74.25
• Key player: Tom Brady. Well, somebody had to throw to Moss.

Short & Curlies (1-0) def. Fleft's Freaks (0-1)

• Final Score: 77.53 - 52.68
• Key player: Just being matched up against Fleft was enough for a victory.

With the first selection in the 2007 Hogs Haven Fantasy Football League, Burgundy and Gold selects LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers...

Here's the rest of the draft order (I swear I didn't pick this):

1. Burgundy and Gold - Ladainian Tomlinson
   
2. SeanTaylorEatsBabies - Steven Jackson
   
3. Short & Curlies (curlyr) - Larry Johnson
   
4. Errant Paintballs - Frank Gore
   
5. 70 Chip (brock) - Joseph Addai
   
6. Brownskins - Shaun Alexander
   
7. Fleft's Freaks - Willie Parker
   
8. Brit'Skins - Brian Westbrook
   
9. JustinU804nDem - Rudi Johnson
   
10. Chocolate Rain (TexSkins) - Laurence Maroney
    
11. MC Hammers (Romans12) - Peyton Manning
    
12. paloffs - Travis Henry
    

Other noteables:

• Clinton Portis goes in the third round (26th overall) to SeanTaylorEatsBabies.
• Santana Moss (52nd) to Errant Paintballs.
• Chris Cooley (62nd) to MC Hammers.
• Ladell Betts (112th) to JustinU804nDem.
• Antwaan Randle El (176th) to Brit'Skins.
• Washington Defense (178th) to Chocolate Rain.
• Brandon Lloyd to (180th) to paloffs.

Hat tip to one of our readers for this one.  

Yahoo! is reporting that Ladell Betts has been released:

Sep 1 Betts was released by the Colts.

Recommendation: He lost the backup job to Jim Sorgi, but could be signed to the practice squad.

In other news, the Redskins have signed LaDainian Tomlinson to a 5-year contract extension.

Here are the instructions for joining:

1. Log into your Yahoo! account.
   
2. Point your browser to: http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1
   
3. Join private league, ID: 178542, password: httr (might be in all-caps, I forget)

Thanks,

One of the most highly-trafficked (and hilarious) sports blogs on the internet, so here's a link to Deadspin's NFL Season Preview for the Washington Redskins.  It's probably worth a skim; however, one of the commenters does a much better job of expressing my perennial expectations for the team:

BY UNSILENT MAJORITY AT 01:45 PM SUPER BOWL OR BUST
WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

...post a YouTube video:

Late Monday night or Tuesday morning, after every week of play, I'll post the results of the matchups here, so the bragging will not just be limited to the Yahoo! boards.

Also, to ensure that all of our regular commenters have access, I'm going to hold off on posting the league details on the front page here.  Instead, for the league ID and password, please send a quick e-mail to HogsHaven@yahoo.com, and include the name you use to comment.

Thanks all.

Nothing to see here folks.  :)