Sundays rarely disappoint. Actually, let me rephrase that. Sundays from September to January rarely disappoint. You gather with friends, co-workers, neighbors, family, and fantasy buddies to watch the week’s football games. You might make chili, order pizza or grill burgers while it is still nice out, but once the game starts, everyone hovers around the TV.
Everyone has a different place where they watch football on Sundays. In the basement of my house we have a 70-inch TV that is great for video games, but better for NFL Sundays. Last year we would hook up Sunday Ticket from my computer to the 42-inch TV that sits next to the 70 inch. The quality was bad, if it worked, and it left me without a computer to check throughout the day. Not ideal. This year we decided to invest in another cable box. It works perfectly as the 42-inch TV handles the RedZone channel, while the 70-inch carries the Vikings game or any other game that might be on at that time. We have room to comfortably sit ten. The fridge is always stacked and the bar is always full of food and drinks. It couldn’t get any better.
Last Week’s Results:
I recommended the Kansas City Chiefs and the hometown Minnesota Vikings. The Chiefs were a bit of a letdown given their matchup. At the end of the day they did only allow the Jets to score 10 points while sacking the carousel of Jets quarterbacks 3 times. That was good enough for 5 standard fantasy points. The Vikings took on Washington at TCF Bank Stadium, in a game that welcomed RGIII back into the fold. The Vikings gave him a nice welcome, taking him down for five sacks and knocking him all over the field. Still, RGIII and Morris lead Washington to 26 points. Overall, the Vikings grabbed 7 more fantasy points in week 9. In the last four weeks, 7 is the minimum amount of fantasy points that they have gathered. The 6th ranked Vikings defense will take this week off and look to come back strong against divisional opponents after their bye.
Week 10 Targets:
- Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys are this week’s winner in the “who plays Jacksonville” sweepstakes The Cowboys are coming off of a 9-point performance last week against the Cardinals. This week they travel to London to take on the Jaguars. While Blake Bortles has looked better in the past couple of weeks, this trip to will be a big change for him. I expect a defensive touchdown for “America’s team” as they head across the Atlantic, leaving fantasy owners who pick them up enjoying their tea and crumpets this Sunday.
- Pittsburgh Steelers: You may have heard that the best defense is a good offense. If you have, you are probably looking no further than the Steelers for your defense this week. Have you seen Big Ben play the past two weeks? Setting the NFL Record with 12 touchdowns passes over the past two weeks, the Steeler offense has been staying on the field more often. This alleviates pressure on the defense and more time for them to rest and get ready for the upcoming drive. This week the Steelers travel to New Jersey to face the Jets. The Steelers came into week 9 as the 12th best fantasy defense, and have been playing very well of late. James Harrison has gone from retired to the spark the Steelers need in a matter of weeks. The Steelers are looking at a 2 interception game with the addition of 4 or 5 sacks as well.
A couple other defenses to consider are the Patriots and the Bills. The Pats are coming off a matchup where they played the Broncos. Many people (including me) were concerned that they wouldn’t play well against Manning, instead they had 2 interceptions and Julian Edelman found paydirt on a punt return. Check to see if they got dropped and pick them up where you can. The Bills were on the bye last week but now have a good schedule for a couple weeks. This week against the Chiefs at home might be a little tough, but the Bills have done well all year (ranked 3rd going into week 9) and should provide good value for upcoming weeks.
Week 10 should provide more fun and excitement in the NFL. No matter where you are watching, make sure that you have one of these defenses so you can cheer when they post a pick-six. Grab a cold one and enjoy, another week of football is upon us.
Photo cred: http://goo.gl/SPXqOH
Jared “Minnesota Nice” Hines is a fantasy football contributor at The Sports Script. Follow him on Twitter @Jared_Hines27!
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