Paper Pigskin Point Potential 2014 - Green Bay Packers

This is a series on my 2014 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and film.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

GREEN BAY PACKERS - Passing 267 ypg    Rushing 134 ypg

The Packers are a well-oiled machine on offense that has typically used a high powered West Coast passing attack over the years but lacked a run game. Their star QB missed seven games with a collar bone injury, and during that time, the team unearthed an element to their game that they have been lacking. Now head coach Mike McCarthy has the balance that he's always wanted. As opponents have to pick their poison, you as a Paper Pigskin player get to choose your remedy.  This team is going to be a headache to prepare for.

NFL Brain Dump - Playoff Race of Disgrace

So many teams had a chance to make a statement in week 15 and strengthen their playoff position but failed to capitalize on their opportunities. The top three seeds in the AFC all lost and gave other teams hopes of getting either a playoff bye or home game. Outside of the West division, the top teams in the NFC are falling by the wayside. Now there are teams whose life lines were weak just a week ago, are now revitalized.

NFL Brain Dump: Checking The Climate

This week's brain dump will take a brief look at some of the league's on-goings.  Even though we're approaching week 9, we haven't quite reached the half-way mark because only half of the teams have completed half of their schedule due to the bye weeks.  There have been a few surprises and many disappointments.

Aaron Rodgers continues to lead the Green Bay Packers to victory.  There are some quarterbacks who have been under performing  this season and the media have given them outs by saying this is the result of injuries to their top wide receivers.   No such excuses are coming from the Packers' organization.  Green Bay has lost their top three wide receivers from last season and Rodgers just keep piling on the wins.  This is nothing new.

Colin Kaepernick isn't playing like he's the future of the NFL.  This shouldn't be a concern for any fan of the San Francisco 49'ers because he is doing what he is supposed to do, which is executing the game plan set forth by his head coach.  If anything, the underwhelming performance early in the season can be attested to Coach Harbaugh wanting to show off his toy but it can't work right without the proper accessories (Crabtree).  What they have done in the bay is revert back to running the ball which has been a recipe for their success in the past. This shouldn't surprise anyone.

Alex Smith is a terrible quarterback.  No, I don't really believe this.  This is something that people like to say because he isn't putting up flashy numbers and doesn't take chances beyond the intermediate level of the defense.  He is a game manager who is completing the assignment given to him by Kansas City Chief's head coach Andy Reid.  Are we really going to argue with the results he has produced? Many quarterbacks in his situation will listen to the chatter from the peanut gallery and try to show people how wrong they are.  Alex Smith is is playing within himself and being the best that he can be.  I thought KC would do good but being undefeated is surprising.

There is something really wrong with the Dallas Cowboys.  This has nothing to do with Tony Romo choking away games because he is playing some amazing football this season.  This has nothing to do with the over-hyped outburst by Dez Bryant in last weeks loss; I love the passion he displayed.  I'd much rather go to battle with somebody that I know cares about me surviving than somebody who acts like everything is cool.  Over the years, Dallas has put talented players on the field but have lost a lot of close games.  Maybe it's the coaching.  Maybe its the owner that doesn't know how to chill.  They have the best team on paper in their division.  Their results have been a disappointment.

Greg Schiano has no idea how to lead a group of men.  Neither the old players or new players like him.  I'm really surprised he hasn't been fired yet; I can imagine this is disappointing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans.  Tony Dungy put in work during his tenure in Tampa and built a culture of winning football, just to have ownership sacrifice that for a quickie super bowl win.  Now it seems like they've chosen to fully embrace their traditional losing culture.

That's all I really have to say this time around.  Next week will bring a full mid-season report.

Let me know what you think of these musings in the comments section.

NFL Week 9 Power Rankings

Not much has changed from last week.  Although, the Chiefs, Broncos, Patriots, and Seahawks looked shaky in their wins, none of the previous top 10 lost.

1.  Kansas City   They continue to not lose to the teams on their schedule. It's crazy to see the lack of respect this team as a whole gets because nobody believes in their shoddy quarterback.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

My friends over at the The OpinioNation blog releases a weekly "The Strength Of Ten" article which is basically a top 10 version of NFL power rankings. I'm on the panel that comes up with the list, I figured I should share my personal choices that factor into it.  Check there rankings and see how it compares to mine.

NFL Brain Dump: XOXO

I love watching football.  It isn't always about what plays are called, because sometimes passion is what ultimately decides the outcome.

The main thing that I took away from the epic Patriots versus Saints showdown is that Bill Belichick is still a better coach than you, me, Sean Payton, Rob Ryan or anyone else that loves football.  For the most part this season, the Saints have been taking what defenses give them, which have lead to Jimmy Graham taking a lot of yardage and dunking the football over crossbars.  In this game, Bill decided to play along and give Brees whatever he wants EXCEPT for passes to the elite tight end.  This was accomplished by having his best coverage defender shadow New Orleans’ best receiver, seems like a simple concept, it’s surprising that up until now no other coordinator employed this basic tactic which worked so well that Jimmy was held without a catch.  As well as “project shutdown Jimmy” worked, it still wasn’t enough to win the game; the game was decided by heart, mind control, and clutch plays.

NFL Brain dump: Week 5

It's been said that NFL teams that have opened the season with two losses over the past five years haven't made the playoffs.  This week, I'll track the eight teams that this applies to this season as well as some other musings.

Paper Pigskin Point Potential NFC North

This is a series on my 2013 outlook of players you would want to have on your Paper Pigskin team (fantasy football).  I'll be organizing them by division.  What you'll find here are my views based on years of playing experience and countless hours of geeking out researching stats, trends, and articles.  I'll advise where to reach and whose hype not to believe.

Green Bay Packers  253 passing ypg  106 rushing ypg  (posted August 26, 2013)

QB:   Aaron Rodgers is the most efficient play maker in the league.  Last season he threw a touchdown pass for every 110 yards and was only intercepted eight times compared to 39 touchdowns.  Rodgers should be one of the first two quarterback selected always.  The Packers play at a deliberate pace on offense, if not for this, Rodgers' Paper Pigskin production would be threw the roof.  His lack of negative points resulting from interceptions and his running ability is what keeps him on the same level as a 5,000 yard passer.  The legitimate threat of a rushing attack in Green Bay will open up more opportunities for big plays.