NICK AMATANGELO: BROADCAST JOURNALIST
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Conflict of interests

9/24/2014

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Man, that was a rough week.

It’s one thing if your games come down to the wire and they just don’t go your way, but it’s completely another thing to just be entirely out of it by the time Sunday Night Football starts.

Luckily for me, I got to experience both of these scenarios.

In the first league in question, I am now sitting a sad 1-2, despite using my first two draft picks on two of the top wide receivers in football today (Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas).

They netted me a grand total of 13 points this week.

In fact, both running backs, both wide receivers, and my tight end totaled a whopping 22 points on the week. That’s a horrific 4.5 points per player.

Ouch.

It was so bad, my DEFENSE outscored anyone else on my team. Yes, it was the Indianapolis Colts defense against an awful Jacksonville Jaguars team. However, your defense doesn’t usually make up a huge part of your points. Let alone LEAD THE TEAM for the week.

Double ouch.

Now to the heartbreak.

I was down going into Monday Night Football. I was down a lot. I was down 34.5 points, but still had Nick Folk, the New York Jets’ kicker, and Jay Cutler the Chicago Bears’ quarterback.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am among the most die-hard Green Bay Packers fans out there. I bleed green and gold. I’m planning on signing my first-born child up for season tickets so that he or she can have them around his or her 18th birthday. I own a cheesehead.

And yet, on Monday Night Football, I was yelling, “Cutty just don’t care!” every time Jay Cutler did anything of note.

At the same time, I was chanting, “Come on, Nick Folk field goal,” every time the Jets had the ball.

That’s one of the things I absolutely love about fantasy football. If your player is in the game, you’re instantly a fan of that team. You want the team to do well so there’s a slight chance that your player gets that big run, or throws for that huge touchdown. Even if — especially in this case — that player happens to play for the arch-rival of your favorite team.

In the waning moments of Monday’s game, I trailed by a scant 3.12 points. The Bears had a first and 10 in the Jets’ red zone (inside the 20-yard line) and I was hoping that Cutler could throw for just one more touchdown.

Unfortunately, the Jets defense held up, and forced a field goal, giving me no more points.

Triple ouch.

My lone win this week was by 10 points, but came only because the Carolina Panthers were awful on defense.

On Sunday Night Football, the Panthers fell apart against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The usually stout defense yielded an embarrassing negative seven fantasy points after giving up 37 points and forcing no turnovers. Of the 20 available defenses that were on the waiver wire, 12 would have yielded the necessary four points it would have taken to swing the score 10 or more points in my opponents favor.

All in all, a dreary 1-5 week for my teams. I was 8-4 coming into the week. Now I sit an even 9-9 among my six leagues as we hit the quarter turn of the season.

An 0-6 week would have been killer. Luckily for me, a bad break by my opponent kept me from going 0-for in fantasy for the first time since I played with multiple leagues.

Dodge bullets of your own? Want to commiserate a loss? Need some advice on who to play next week? Email me at 14tange14@gmail.com! I answer emails all week! Not that I ever get emails, but still!

Nick’s Waiver Wire Picks of the Week

1) Brian Quick: St. Louis Rams wide receiver

One thing I really look for as the season gets going when I make waiver wire picks is consistency. Through three weeks, I think it’s safe to say Quick is consistent enough to pick up. Over three games, Quick has averaged just over five catches and 78 yards a game and he finally found the end zone for the first time last week against the Dallas Cowboys. If there’s a St. Louis player you have to have on your team, make sure it’s Quick, who is only owned in 24.3 percent of ESPN leagues.

2) Bobby Rainey: Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back.

Looking deeper into that Thursday Night Football rout, Rainey didn’t have that bad a game. For a team down early that threw most of the night, Rainey had 13 points in a PPR setting, despite fumbling twice (negative two points each fumble in most leagues).  This was due to seven receptions by the young runner. As long as Doug Martin is sidelined with an injury, Rainey can be an adequate flex player if you have a PPR league. Only 18.7 percent of league owners have him, and since the Bucs were annihilated, other owners might overlook this potential diamond in the rough.

3) Niles Paul: Washington Redskins tight end

It doesn’t matter if it’s RGIII throwing to him, or Kirk Cousins. The ‘Skins throw to him, and throw to him often. Another potential diamond in the rough for PPR leagues, Paul averages six catches a game and has finished with more than 60 yards every game so far this season. If he finds the end zone like he did in week two, it’s an added benefit. Paul is owned in 7.6 percent of leagues, so if you want him, he’s a guy for the taking.

Good luck, fantasy experts, and may my teams lose so yours don’t have to.

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An Injury-Riddled massacre

9/17/2014

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Raise your hand if you made it through the weekend without any fantasy injuries.

If you didn’t raise your hand, I either don’t believe you, or you don’t play fantasy football.

This week saw the biggest number of high-profile injuries that I’ve ever seen in a single week of fantasy football.

Big-name star after big-name star fell throughout the day.

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III and wide out DeSean Jackson, Cincinnati Bengals wide out AJ Green, Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, New Orleans Saints running back Mark Ingram, New York Jets wide out Eric Decker, St. Louis Rams wide out Tavon Austin, Miami Dolphins running back Knowshon Moreno, Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis, San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews and San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis all were injured this past week.

In addition, Cleveland Browns running back Ben Tate, Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (though not because of injury) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin all missed week two. There were questions about Chicago Bears wide outs Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery leading up to the Sunday night game against the Niners that forced many owners to bench the stars, fearing they wouldn’t play.

Whew.

As for my teams, I both benefited and was hurt by these injury problems.

In one league, I was lifted to a win due to my opponent starting both RGIII and AJ Green.

In another league, however, I was stumped with Ben Tate’s injury. I ended up playing Darren McFadden, the oft-injured Oakland Raiders running back. He posted decent stats, but not as much as I would have expected a healthy Tate to get.

In addition, Eric Decker posted great stats in the first half, but was injured in the third quarter and didn’t return. I ended up losing on the second-to-last play of Monday Night Football: a 20-yard Darren Sproles run that put my opponent just above my total. Had Tate been able to play, or Decker been able to finish the game, I have no doubt in my mind I would be 2-0 in that league, instead of the 1-1.

Injuries are a big part of fantasy football, of course. However, this kind of injury-riddled week is something you almost never see.

Most of these players were drafted in the top five or six rounds of countless fantasy drafts. Many of these players are going to miss significant time. Those who aren’t will still face questions the closer we get to the start of week three. Just because they won’t miss significant time, doesn’t mean they won’t miss a game or two as a precaution.

In order to combat these injury questions, you need to look into the backups and starters that were avoided in the draft.

Injury problems? Need to know who to pick up as a replacement? Don’t hesitate to email me at 14tange14@gmail.com! I’m always happy to help fellow fantasy fanatics out! Plus, I’ll add your question to next week’s column!

Nick’s Waiver-Wire Picks of the Week:

1) James Jones: Oakland Raiders wide out

The former Green Bay Packer made headlines last week, but for the wrong reasons. Jones somehow managed to fumble the ball twice on the same play. Check out the video if you missed it. Even with this unfortunate accident, Jones is a top-10 wide out so far this year. The Raiders are not going to be competitive in many games this year. They’ll be throwing early and throwing often. Jones is already averaging six catches per game, and has scored a touchdown in both contests so far. Despite this, he’s only owned in 28.7 percent of ESPN leagues. Pick him up, and play him as a flex.

2) Matt Asiata: Minnesota Vikings running back

With the status of Adrian Peterson up in the air for the foreseeable future, it’s not a bad idea to look at AP’s backup as a viable fantasy starter. Asiata only gained 36 rushing yards on 13 attempts, but caught five balls for just under 50 yards and a touchdown. Not a guy you want starting in your lineup (unless you have to), but the kind of guy you want to have in case AP is out for a while. Since he’s only owned in 11 percent of ESPN leagues, he should be a player you can grab.

3) Kirk Cousins: Washington Redskins quarterback

Had RGIII and now need QB help? Cousins looked better than RGIII did in week one. Now that RGIII’s injured, it’s Captain Kirk’s time to shine. Owned in only 8 percent of ESPN leagues, he’s one guy you need to get your hands on if you have any issues with quarterbacks, or are in need of a competent backup.

Good luck, fantasy experts, and may my teams lose, so yours don’t have to.

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Overreacting to overreactions

9/10/2014

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It’s the start of Week 2, and I lost two games last week.

CLEARLY there’s something wrong with my team, right?

In my keeper league, Doug Martin gained nine yards on nine carries. That’s good for a grand total of zero points. I happened to lose that game by 15 points. On my bench was Chris Ivory, who racked up 16 points on the week thanks to his more than 100 yards rushing and a touchdown.

In one of my snake draft leagues, I spent a second-round pick on Denver Bronco wide out Demaryius Thomas, who nabbed all of four points on the weekend (non PPR scoring).

In another league, my New Orleans Saints’ defense was so awful that they scored NEGATIVE six points. It would have been better to not play a defense at all than to play the Saints’ defense.

Elsewhere around the NFL, players who went in the top-three rounds such as Jamaal Charles (average draft position (ADP) of third overall), Aaron Rodgers (ADP 12 overall) and Julio Jones (ADP 21 overall) all failed to post performances worthy of their draft positions.

So what is there to make about these less-than-stellar performances?

It’s easy to overreact to poor performances by top players. Especially if you had a bench player perform better.

I left Roddy White on the bench in one league this week, allowing his five catches, 72 yards and touchdown go to waste. Mark Ingram gained 60 rush yards and added two touchdowns. Andy Dalton outplayed Philip Rivers by 13 points.

It’s an easy choice to bench your underperforming studs in favor of these other players who had a good week last week.

But it’s the better play to stay the course with your studs this early in the season.

You picked Aaron Rodgers or Julio Jones or Demaryius Thomas in the first rounds for a reason. Even though they had a bad week, they’ll bounce back soon enough.

Several of the great performances in Week 1 could be flukes. Ivory’s touchdown and most of his yards came on one long touchdown run. You can’t expect that to happen every week.

It’s Week 1, people.

You don’t see the Packers freaking out and benching Aaron Rodgers after the loss to the Seahawks. You don’t see Jay Cutler getting benched after the loss to the Bills.

Why would you bench a top player just because he had a bad week? It doesn’t happen in real football and it shouldn’t happen in fantasy football.

Give your stud players a few weeks, but keep tabs on their performances. Not every stud pans out every year. It happens. But you wait a few weeks before giving up on them.

And these players that had great weeks? Add them to your bench. See what happens. They might not have excellent weeks every week, but they still might become solid contributors. Just as your studs might not pan out, these other players might become studs.

You lost this week. It’s not the end of the world. Your team will bounce back just like your studs will.

Have a bad performance from a stud? Need start/sit advice? Need to vent about a bad performance? Email me at 14tange14@gmail.com! I’d love to hear from you and I’ll put your questions in next week’s column!

Nick’s Picks of the Week:

1) Ahmad Bradshaw, Indianapolis running back

The running back position has one of the highest turnover rates of any fantasy football players. In order to see which running back will become consistent, you need to have a few extras stashed away on your bench. This is what I see in Bradshaw. The Trent Richardson experiment in Indy has failed. The Colts dumped a first-round pick in this year’s draft for a player who clearly doesn’t have legs to stand on. While Bradshaw might be more than 30 years old (the point where running backs sharply decline), he still managed 13 points in a PPR setting. This is because he caught five passes for 70 yards against a pretty good Denver defense. He’s not going to rack up the hard yards between the tackles like he used to, but he can still be a solid contributor in a PPR league. Grab him up and stash him on your bench to see if his performances continue.

2) Allen Hurns, Jacksonville wide receiver

Earlier this year, I said rookies are some of the biggest wild cards in fantasy football. To this point, Bills rookie Sammy Watkins recorded only three catches for 30 yards in his pro debut, while Panthers’ rookie Kelvin Benjamin nabbed six balls for 92 yards and a touchdown. Enter Jacksonville rookie, Allen Hurns. Hurns took his first two catches from Chad Henne and turned them both into touchdowns. He finished the day with 110 yards. So long as Cecil Shorts is out with [injury] for the Jags, Hurns could be the go-to guy on a team that will very likely be playing from behind this season. Again, see if last week was a fluke before throwing him in, but pick him up to see if he’s a budding stud.

3) Josh Gordon, Cleveland wide receiver

All right, I’m gonna level with you guys. I know Gordon is suspended. I know he’s a massive risk for any fantasy owner out there. But I know that if his suspension is reduced this week, I want him on my team. Gordon missed the first two games of last season and still led all wide receivers in fantasy points last year. The NFL Players Association is negotiating new rules for drug testing. If it passes, there’s a chance that this week Gordon is reinstated by the league. You have extra bench spaces. Use them to pick up Gordon. If he’s reinstated, you have one of the best wideouts in football on your team. If he isn’t, then you drop him next week and pick up someone new. That’s what my plans are.

Good luck, fantasy experts, and may my fantasy teams lose, so yours don’t have to.

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Fantasy draft hangover

9/3/2014

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My head is in agony.

My stomach is turning over.

I feel lightheaded.

No, I didn’t spend all last night partying. I’m just looking at the shattered remains of a horrible fantasy football draft.

A bad draft can feel a lot like a hangover the next day. The wondering why in God’s name you did what you did, how can you fix the damage and vows to never let this travesty happen again.

And, like a hangover, there’s not much you can do to fix the damage you’ve caused.

Going into my fourth draft of the year, I was wildly confident. It was an auction draft and a keeper league, which meant I got to choose four players from last year’s team to keep this year (provided I pay what I paid to draft them last year).

For those keeping score at home, my auction league was also the league where last year I accidentally drafted three quarterbacks (Peyton Manning, Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton) in a one quarterback league.

This year was going to be different, though. The league changed its settings. We were granted an extra $100 to add to our auction budgets, and, more importantly, we added a second quarterback slot.

Two quarterbacks? Heck yes!

Now I could keep Newton and Manning — and of course I did.

In addition I nabbed LeSean McCoy and Doug Martin for a grand total of $118 out of my $400 dollars. That gave me the No. 1 quarterback, the No. 3 quarterback and the No. 2 running back in fantasy last season.

All I needed was a receiver.

When the draft started, I was nervous. I had the second-lowest amount of money left after declaring keepers. I watched as several receivers were taken off the board: Randall Cobb for $41, Dez Bryant for $50, Julio Jones for $85. I still had no receivers.

Then Roddy White, second-best wide receiver on the Atlanta Falcons, came to the auction.

I got into a bidding war.

Unfortunately, I won.

I spent $88 on a No. 2 wide receiver.

Ouch.

Spending nearly a quarter of your money on one player is never a good idea, but when it’s a stud like Adrian Peterson, it’s at least somewhat understandable.

With a sizeable chunk of my money gone, I was still able to nab “top-notch” players such Chris Ivory, Emmanuel Sanders and Bernard Pierce.

I even drafted so many wide receivers, I couldn’t make my joke pick of Brandon LaFell.

A complete tragedy.

In a league where it was nearly impossible to find a way to fail…I found a way to fail.

But hey, that all could change in a couple weeks. You never know.

That’s what this column is all about, though, ladies and gentlemen. I make bad decisions, and you guys get to learn from my mistakes so you don’t make them.

Have a draft you bombed too? Let me hear about it! Email me at 14tange14@gmail.com

Nick’s Picks

Note: don’t necessarily start these players out of the gate (unless you’re in a deep league), but keep an eye on them to see how they produce.

1) Kelvin Benjamin (WR, Carolina).

Owned in just 51.4 percent of ESPN leagues, count on Benjamin to make a huge splash in his rookie year. Out of the receivers that were on the Panther’s roster last season, none that caught a pass still remain.

None. Zero. Zilch.

Tight end Greg Olsen is the only remaining Panther who caught a Cam Newton pass last year. Steve Smith is now a Baltimore Raven, Brandon LaFell is a New England Patriot and Ted Ginn is an Arizona Cardinal.

To combat this, the Panthers signed 31-year-old Jason Avant and 32-year-old Jerricho Cotchery, in addition to using their first-round draft pick on Benjamin.

Make no mistake, Benjamin will be “the guy” by week two.

2) Coby Fleener (TE, Indianapolis)

Fleener is owned in a scant 25.8 percent of ESPN leagues right now. Obviously he’s no Jimmy Graham, but Fleener made a name for himself in college at Stanford catching passes…..

…from Andrew Luck, who is the Colt’s quarterback.

Fleener saw his stats double in his sophomore campaign over his rookie one. He caught 52 passes for 608 yards and four touchdowns in 2013.

This is a guy you want on your bench for a few weeks to see how he develops. Andrew Luck is projected to throw for four thousand yards by ESPN this season. Even if Reggie Wayne AND T.Y. Hilton post 1,500 yard years, that still leaves a thousand yards for a player like Fleener to grab.

And I don’t think either Hilton or Wayne gets 1,500 yards.

Good luck, fantasy experts! And may my fantasy teams lose, so yours don’t have to.

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    Nick Amatangelo

    Every week my fantasy football teams do battle. Most weeks I lose.

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