The Commissioner’s Blog

Wow, after a tough time in Week 2, the Beef Hotlinks have come storming back to take the lead from multi-week leader Danny’s Destroyers.

But it’s still very close … 1st through 7th.

What you’re probably noticing is that a lot of you are picking the same NFL teams. So it’s tough to really move up or down. Very often, though, the “Best You Could Have Done” team is going unchosen. So take some chances, and maybe you’ll strike gold.

That said, it’s no one’s fault that the Eagles lost to the Raiders or that New England can be the greatest team ever one week and ordinary another.

So, here are my picks and a few sleeper surprises.

Total Points Scored - Some good picks here are New Orleans, Arizona, Atlanta, Houston, Green Bay… all should score 27 or more points. The Commish is going to go with the Green Bay Packers to put “a hurtin’” on Brett Favre and Minnesota.

Total Points Allowed - Some sleeper picks might be Houston, Chicago, Baltimore… all should allow 13 or less. I’m going with the San Diego Chargers.

Passing Yards - You might consider Baltimore, Houston, Arizona, New Orleans, Green Bay… The Commish is banking on the Atlanta Falcons to light it up.

Rushing Yards - This category is always a tough one to make good picks for. Don’t laugh but I think you can get value from Saint Louis, the New York Giants, Miami (but not the Jets), and even San Diego.  The Commish is going to go out on a limb, though, and take the Dallas Cowboys.

Good luck and have fun!

Just to point some things out:

1st and 5th in POINTS SCORED are separated by only 21 points.

1st and 5th in POINTS ALLOWED are separated by only 12 points.

2nd and 5th in PASSING YARDS are separated by only 214 yards.

2nd and 5th in RUSHING YARDS ae separated by only 110 yards.

When you look at the weekly results, you see that each week there are the “BEST YOU COULD HAVE PICKED” teams.  All it takes is hitting that once, and you can shoot yourself up the rankings, especially if no one else picks the same team.

Also, remember that you can close the gap a little at a time (there’s 12 weeks left) or by the people above you making clunker picks when you do “okay.”

The leader boards have been very fluid so far this year.  And it’s still wide open.

Good luck and have fun.

The Commish

Another set of last minute picks, sorry.

But you guys are doing great on your own. Keep it up!

Okay, okay. So for Week 5 here’s who I’m taking:

Points Scored: Arizona Cardinals

Points Allowed: (I wish I could use the Giants, but I can’t ’cause I used ‘em last week.) New England Patriots

Passing Yards: Indianapolis Colts (I would take the Houston Texans, but I used ‘em last week too!)

Rushing Yards: Buffalo Bills

Good luck and have fun!

Sorry about the mix-up with the Week 3 results. I lost track of an email.

If you ever think I’ve made a mistake, please just let me know and I’ll gladly look into it.

Anyway, let’s move forward.

Some disappointing performances by normally strong teams have mixed up the league rankings. Well, this week, I’m going to suggest you do the following so that you can OWN this league. ROAR!!!!!

Points Scored: I’m looking for a shoot out in Cleveland between the rival Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. So I’m picking the Cincinnati Bengals to score 28+, but I’ll also suggest you take the Cleveland Browns, San Diego Chargers, or New York Giants

Points Allowed: This week, there are a lot of teams who looked bad who have to get their act together and start playing well or else (ie. Cleveland and Kansas City).  Kansas City might score, but they won’t score much vs. the Giants, so I’m taking the New York Giants. Other choices are the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills.

Passing Yards:  I’d love to pick the Chargers, but I used them last week.  You guys should use them this week. If you don’t then may I suggest my pick… the Houston Texans. Or, you might go with the Indianapolis Colts or the Baltimore Ravens.

Rushing Yards: I know Brett Favre is playing Green Bay this week, but for all the hype it’s going to be a rushing kind of game. You might want to go with the Minnesota Vikings this week or maybe Denver Broncos. Me?  I’m taking the Miami Dolphins.

So there you have it. I hope you guys are having fun, and remember there are still 14 weeks to go… if you think you’re way behind now, all it takes is one or two good weeks to get right back to the top. Or even if you make up 20 yards or so each week in the passing or 3 points each week… you can be in the lead by the time it all ends.

Have fun,

The Commish

I’m running a little late, and you guys all have your picks in (pretty much) already, so I’ll just tell you mine.

Points Scored - New Orleans Saints

Points Allowed - Phiadelphia Eagles

Passing Yards - San Diego Chargers

Rushing Yards - Chicago Bears

You guys did a great job this week. Remember, only a few points or yards separate first and seventh place.

Here are my picks this week:

Points For = Indianapolis Colts (You might want to take Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, or Green Bay Packers)

Points Against = Arizona Cardinals (what?  Yes, Arizona. You might want to also look at the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans, or Buffalo Bills).
Passing Yards = Indianapolis Colts (You might also want to consider New Orleans Saints, the New York Jets, or Arizona Cardionals).

Rushing Yards = Minnesota Vikigns (You can also take Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Riaders, or Philadelphia Eagles).

Great job this week. I hope you’re having fun. Sorry this post is a little short, but my first try got accidentally erased.

The Commish

It’s finally here. Finally.

Although I think the Thursday game will be a good game for Points Allowed (Steelers), I don’t want to make anyone feel rushed about their first week’s picks.

So, instead I’m going to look at the Sunday games. Keep in mind, as you make your own picks, that you cannot use the same team for the same category two weeks in a row. If you’re hemming and hawing between two teams, maybe look to see which one will still be a good pick next week.

Right off the bat, I’ll tell you that I think the New England Patriots are this year’s 2008-09 San Diego Chargers… not much of a running game or a defense, throw, throw, throw and score a lot to win.

So, even though I like a couple of teams for Points Scored (Chicago, Green Bay, San Diego), I’m going to go with the New England Patriots to HAVE to score a lot because their defense isn’t going to be able to slow down Buffalo much.

For Points Allowed, I like to look at who is struggling and pick the team that is playing against them if they have a decent defense.  I expect Kansas City and Oakland to struggle, Detroit too.  I also think Tennessee made the Steelers mad with their dancing on the terrible towel thing last year.  So, while I like(San Diego, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh), my pick is the Baltimore Ravens (they play Kansas City).

Passing Yards is a little tough. A lot of the passing teams from last year got new quarterbacks and/or better runners. I don’t think you’ll see San Deigo throw as much, but they should still have over 250 yards. Seattle will throw a lot. Arizona always throws a lot.  But, I’m going to pick the Chicago Bears. I think they will throw for at least 250 yards, probably even more.

And finally, everyone loves Adrian Peterson.  And I do think that they will play it extra conservative with Brett Favre so that he looks good in the first week. Minnesota is probably going to be the #1 rushing offense this week, but it’s not the only good pick.  San Diego (LT has lots to prove), New York Giants, Baltimore Ravens, and the Carolina Panthers all have a good chance of having 125 yards or more.  I’m going to make my Rushing Yards pick a little bit of a surprise … and I’m going to take the San Francisco 49ers for a couple of reasons. I think they’ll want to slow the game down, they have a great runner, andI just like being d

So, there you have it. You can follow my advice (I did make some great decisions last year - go see!) or go your own way.

Good luck and have fun,

The Commish

Consider joining this fun game for young football fans.

Read the rules HERE. and email me for more information: jrcommish@turnleftatthecorner.com.

Sign-ups close and the season begins on September 10.

The Commish

Max and Max’s Monsters.

Congratulations, Max.

In fact, if not for The Commish having picked San Diego for Points Scored in Week 17, Max would’ve beaten the Commish in every category.

Excellent job, everyone. I hope you had fun and will want to participate again next year.

For now, enjoy the playoffs and spread the word so we can get a good group involved next year.

The Commish

I hope everyone had a great holiday week.