I've had something of a hypothesis over the last few months. Looking at some of the changes taking place in the draft this year, namely the rookie wage scale and the 1st round Prime Time on Thursday thing, I thought that the "standard" NFL Draft Value Chart would change significantly for this year. Specifically, I thought that 1st round picks would become more highly desired as they cost so much less to sign both in the short and long term. So, I'm going to go through all of the trades that happened both last night and over the last couple of months to see what's going on with the Chart.

For reference, I'm using the Walter Football version of the chart (they're all roughly the same, it's just that Walter is the one that's always sited around here), and I'm looking at the ESPN draft trade ticker to see what happened last night.

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Well, that was a weird one.  Drops, fumbles, missed tackles, penalties, bad officiating.  Aside from protecting Jay Cutler, everything that could have gone wrong for the Bears DID go wrong.  My general feeling was that the entire offense was just slightly off, and that Major Wright needs a LOT more seasoning before we can call him the future.

BUT WE WON!!!

We're now basically free and clear for the #6 seed in the NFC, standing one game over all other competitors except the Atlanta Falcons, who we hold the tiebreaker over.

Anyhoo, let’s start off with the usual disclaimers.  I'm not a Fantasy expert.  I've run the gauntlet from 0-for the season to undefeated champion, and everything in between.  I've played in almost every type of Fantasy Football league except for Auction drafts and Franchise leagues.  My favorite leagues right now are the two 2QB starter leagues, one of which I'm the defending champion.  I'm also a big fan of scoring odd things, like return yardage for offensive players, and TFLs and 3-and-outs for Defenses.  So some of my rankings might be skewed slightly (or majorly) by some of my experiences.  Take them with a grain of salt.

The pickups below are broken down first by position, then by the order I'd pick them up.  Not all waiver wire pickups are created equal, obviously.  The guys higher up in their positional breakdown are more highly recommended than those lower down.

I also dislike talking about players for multiple weeks in a row.  It gets boring from my end to say the same things over and over again.  But I’ll also run out of material pretty quickly if I keep doing that.  For the most part, the guys I thought would be good to pick up last week (or any other week for that matter) are still probably halfway decent pickups.  But, as always, be smart about what you’re doing with your team.  Don’t pick up Torrey Smith just because I recommended him after his insane 3 score game a few weeks ago.  Do your own research, just as I’ve done in compiling these lists.  And, above all, ENJOY THE INSANITY!

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I’m sorry.  I have to say that to start.  I mailed in that article last week.  It was atrocious.  I make no excuse for that dreck.  But I will make the promise to strive for better in the future.  I done bad, and Imma fix it.  Starting this week.

Now, back to our little world of oblong shapes, strange body armor, and weird black paint that doesn’t actually do anything but make you look silly.

Two incredible, stunning, remarkable, and completely unpredictable things happened this weekend.  They happened within seconds of each other.  And they shook the American football landscape to its core.

1) The New Orleans Saints lost a football game.

2) The St. Louis Rams won a football game.

Now I know that some of you have fallen to the floor, fainting in shock over these two wild developments.  Now, let me add one more little twist to those two factoids.  Both happened in the same game.  That’s right, Football freaks!  The previously winless St. Louis Rams defeated the highly touted former Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints in an NFL football game!  I know you’re shocked as well.

In other news, Tebowing is officially a *thing*.  It was done twice in one game, and there is even a website dedicated to showcasing its service.  Let’s say nothing about the skill of the player that inspired such a practice.  As gossip, in all its forms and functions, is evil incarnate, and we should never indulge in its practice.

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Yeah, right.  Let’s face it folks.  Tim Tebow sucks as an NFL quarterback.  He proved it twice in two weekends.  But he’s a useful Fantasy quantity as long as he keeps tucking the football and using his own feet to do something, anything, other than let the ball go away from his magical, blessed hands.  (I retched typing that last sentence)

Anyhoo, let’s start off with the usual disclaimers.  I'm not a Fantasy expert.  I've run the gauntlet from 0-for the season to undefeated champion, and everything in between.  I've played in almost every type of Fantasy Football league except for Auction drafts and Franchise leagues.  My favorite leagues right now are the two 2QB starter leagues, one of which I'm the defending champion.  I'm also a big fan of scoring odd things, like return yardage for offensive players, and TFLs and 3-and-outs for Defenses.  So some of my rankings might be skewed slightly (or majorly) by some of my experiences.  Take them with a grain of salt.

The pickups below are broken down first by position, then by the order I'd pick them up.  Not all waiver wire pickups are created equal, obviously.  The guys higher up in their positional breakdown are more highly recommended than those lower down.

I also dislike talking about players for multiple weeks in a row.  It gets boring from my end to say the same things over and over again.  But I’ll also run out of material pretty quickly if I keep doing that.  For the most part, the guys I thought would be good to pick up last week (or any other week for that matter) are still probably halfway decent pickups.  But, as always, be smart about what you’re doing with your team.  Don’t pick up Torrey Smith just because I recommended him after his insane 3 score game a few weeks ago.  Do your own research, just as I’ve done in compiling these lists.  And, above all, ENJOY THE INSANITY!

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Top o the mournin, jolly old chaps! Happy week!  Bears win, though not without some hand-wringing at the end.  Matt Forte is looking all-world, and is getting more expensive by the week.  Lots of fun stuff happened elsewhere in the NFL world, so let's get down to it!

Before we do all that fun, though, a minor disclaimer.  I'm not a Fantasy expert.  I've run the gauntlet from 0-for the season to undefeated champion, and everything in between.  I've played in almost every type of Fantasy Football league except for Auction drafts and Franchise leagues.  My favorite leagues right now are the two 2QB starter leagues, one of which I'm the defending champion.  I'm also a big fan of scoring odd things, like return yardage for offensive players, and TFLs and 3-and-outs for Defenses.  So some of my rankings might be skewed slightly (or majorly) by some of my experiences.  Take them with a grain of salt.

Also, I'm going to try not to talk about one player more than once.  If he was listed last week, there's a good chance he's still a decent pickup right now.  Here are my Week 7 pickups, for reference.

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Wow was that fun!!  Any time the Bears decide to put on a show like that, it makes for a good week.  Anything that I would say up here would merely be a rehash of everything everybody else has already said.  Forte is a beast.  Cutty is a world-class QB.  Lance Louis looks legit.  Same with Stephen Paea.  The Wright Conte secondary might have some legs.  And the Martzfense is dead.  All good things, and all of this is relevant to our little game of numbers.  D&D for jocks, if you will.  I'm going to take a look at some guys I'm targeting in a few of my leagues that might or might not be available in your leagues.

Editor Note: Promoted to the front page in lieu of the Fantasy Q&A, so drop your questions in the comment thread and hopefully someone will give you some great advice.

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Well, after that depressing Monday Night, I think we all need something else to think about than the Bears.  Let's get this party started.

What's up, Fantasy Freaks!  Since there's been a relative dearth of Fantasy information being posted here recently, I might as well put up my thoughts on what's turning into a really crazy Fantasy season.  The consensus #1 overall pick hasn't lived up to his status, while a couple of also-rans from a Fantasy perspective have come up to take the crown.  Rookies running wild, injuries galore, and a brand new defensive landscape to stream against.  Let's get down to it! 

Before we do all that fun, though, a minor disclaimer.  I'm not a Fantasy expert.  I've run the gauntlet from 0-for the season to undefeated champion, and everything in between.  I've played in almost every type of Fantasy Football league except for Auction drafts and Franchise leagues.  My favorite leagues right now are the two 2QB starter leagues, one of which I'm the defending champion.  I'm also a big fan of scoring odd things, like return yardage for offensive players, and TFLs and 3-and-outs for Defenses.  So some of my rankings might be skewed slightly (or majorly) by some of my experiences.  Take them with a grain of salt.

Here are the guys I'm targeting this week for Waiver wire pickups.  This one's gonna be a LOT longer than it would otherwise normally be, as there's a LOT of players that might not have been drafted at the beginning of the year but have made significant under-the-radar contributions thus far this year.  Mebbe there's something fun in here you'd like to grab as well, eh?

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Now, I know that this hasn't been the Bears' norm this season, but I witnessed early on Sunday what could possibly be called a nearly perfect Bears-style opening drive.  I will post every play from said drive below, blanking the names to protect the innocent.  The more that I see of this drive, the more I am absolutely impressed with it, and I'd like to see the Bears put together stuff like this in the future.

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It’s been far too long since I posted one of my random, lengthy, nonsensical rants around here.  Time to break the silence!  Follow me through a recap of our offseason, and I'll hand out grades as to how I feel the Bears performed.

The Bears were a good team last year.  Good, but not great.  Our defense, as usual, was amongst the League’s best.  Brian Urlacher returned with a vengeance; Lance Briggs was his usual steady, productive self; Julius Peppers provided a presence on the Line that we haven’t seen since 2006; and both the Hitman Chris Harris and Peanut Charles Tillman provided security in the backfield.  Special teams, thanks to Robbie Gould, Devin Hester, and guru Dave Toub, was also up there.  Our offense, after sputtering in the beginning, found a groove with the running game and stepped up in the second half of the year.

Still, this was a flawed team.  We had talent, but there was also a certain amount of luck involved in our NFC Championship Game appearance.  Calvin Johnson.  Third string QBs.  The Seattle Seahawks.  Health.  It’s likely that all of that luck won’t happen again this year.  Our flaws were fairly obvious, but I’d like to point them out once again so that our offseason can be put into the proper perspective.

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