FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 10

Aaron Rodgers in street clothes is not what fantasy owners wanted to see Monday night. (nbcsports.com)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at most 50% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems.

Sometimes I will ask myself why not just write FAABulous on Monday? I usually have more time, and this usually lousy Monday Night Football game is what's keeping me from getting this article up faster. It's a petty complaint I have, but it's quickly rebuffed as I realize things can happen on Monday Night. Not necessarily fantasy altering, but little nuggets here or there. 

Well last night, during an actually interesting MNF game, something very significant happened. On the first drive of the game, Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked and fell on his non-throwing shoulder. He did not return to the game.

There was growing concern this morning. ESPN's omnipotent Adam Schefter just reported that Rodgers has a fractured collar bone and will miss 3 weeks. Not as horrible a blow as many were thinking, but something that requires immediate attention. Gone is a favorable match-up for Rodgers against the Philadelphia Eagles, and with Seneca Wallace as the back-up there's nothing to see here.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago with a slew of injuries all over the field, that having depth is important. Now with a three week absence, and typically owners of the best fantasy quarterback not focusing too much on a QB2 it's time to attack the waiver wire. There's one guy I talked about for the past three weeks that could be of service, but there's also an unlikely candidate that was at Lambeau Monday night.

Jay Cutler says he'll be back 3 weeks ahead of schedule and start Week 10. (bleacherreport.com)

Jay Cutler, QB - CHI (31% owned) v DET

Cutler is reportedly coming back next week. I mentioned last week, that I Trust in Trestman so I was rewarded with a  stellar performance by Josh McCown. Both are intriguing options if you are a Rodgers owner, but you can get creative as Yahoo!'s Andy Behrens tweeted out last night.

If you were to play at Foles/Cutler platoon rest-of-season, these would be your DEF match-ups thru Week 16: GB, WAS, STL, MIN, DAL, MIN, PHI
— Andy Behrens (@andybehrens) November 5, 2013

...if you were to play that Foles/Cutler fantasy platoon, your final four matchups of season would be vs. defenses that allow 290+ pass YPG
— Andy Behrens (@andybehrens) November 5, 2013

Now that it is being reported that Rodgers is only out for 3 weeks, this is still useful info, but I doubt anyone has the FAAB/waiver priority to snag both quarterbacks.


Jake Locker, QB - TEN (37%) +Jacksonville Jaguars 

The beauty about Locker is that he has a high floor. The only time he put up less than double digit points was Week 1 against the Steelers. He doesn't turn the ball over and can run a little. These all equate to a safe 12-15 fantasy points. If you're team is stacked and you're confident in your offense, Locker presents a conservative add.

Case Keenum, QB - HOU (11%) @ ARZ

Case Keenum! Kevin Kolb has nothing on you! I gave Keenum a brief mention last week, but he deserves a full couple of sentences now. I'll say this, Keenum is why I dislike college football. The guy is the all-time leader in passing yards (by 2,000 yards by the way) and he can barely get an NFL job. I mean look at this list of Hall of Famers. Liking college football and liking the NFL is a non-sequitur. They play the same sport by name and there might be some similar positions and rules, but everything else is a disconnect. Keenum has looked good though, but he has a tough match-up in Arizona.

Andre Brown, RB - NYG (37%) v OAK

He's ready to be activated, but I would expect him to get going a bit slowly. Brown was basically the same as David Wilson statistically last year, but with Peyton Hillis still operating somewhat well, there's no push to get Brown going from day one. 

Riley Cooper, WR - PHI (9%) @GB

Foles is presumably starting next week in Green Bay, and he and Cooper have a great relationship on the field and it's shown. The two biggest games of his career have been with Foles under center, and you can never overlook how a new quarterback runs an offense. His tendencies and ability can open the door for some potential solid fantasy plays.  Also, he has to be breathing a sigh of relief that he's no longer the most hated player in the NFL. Although, I wouldn't exactly be sending Richie Incognito a thank you card.

TE du jour

One of the more overlooked injuries in a crazy week of shenanigans on and off the field is Kyle Rudolph. He hasn't been as good as advertised, but at this point with him out and anyone that owns him was probably twiddling their thumbs and hesitant to make a move, well now is the time. I mention a lot of TE here, so without beating a dead horse, there are two TE widely available in my Persons of Interest section I would go after. 

PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Mike Brown, WR - JAX (11%) v TEN

So, Justin Blackmon gets suspended again for drugs and now everyone is flocking to Mike Brown? No. Just no. Oh, and by the way, if anyone ever complains about how Dez Bryant got passed on by all of these teams, this is the reason. Blackmon was selected 5th overall and has certainly been a bigger headache than he's worth for the Jaguars. 

THE 1%

Andrew Hawkins, WR - CIN (2%) +Baltimore Ravens 
FAABulous favorite Andrew Hawkins is back! He can fit in perfectly for what the Bengals need as a slot receiver who can take short passes and make big plays out of them. Depending on his health and what Marvin Lewis wants to do with Gio Bernard, this could be a great add.

And yes, we are at the point of the year where I'm upping the ownership to less than 5%.

PERSONS OF INTEREST

Nick Foles, QB - PHI (12%), Chris Ivory, NYJ - RB (45%), Mike Tolbert, RB - CAR (37%), Aaron Dobson, WR - NE (35%), Tim Wright, WR/TE - TB (11%), Marlon Brown, WR - BAL (10%), Colby Fleener, TE - IND (50%)

FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 3

RG III (left) and Aaron Rodgers had two very different Sundays, but for fantasy .. not quite. (msn.foxsports.com)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at most 50% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems.

From a football perspective, you'd much rather wake up Tuesday morning and be Aaron Rodgers as opposed to Robert Griffin III. Rodgers led the Packers to their first win of the season by crushing the Washington football club 38-20. Griffin, however, struggled to get anything going for the second straight game, only to see his defense struggle again and put Washington FC in a deep hole. One team kept their division title hopes alive, while the other couldn't be plummeting any faster.

In fantasy however, the difference isn't so vast. In that game Rodgers hurled 4 TD passes and set a franchise record for a single game of passing at 480 yards (beating out .... Matt Flynn's previous franchise record!). Griffin playing the catch up game tossed he second straight 300+ yard passing game and 3 TDs of his own. Overall, for what looked like an absolute beatdown on Sunday turned into only an 11 point difference between Rodgers (34.90 points) and Griffin (23.90 points) in standard Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

In fact, RGIII ended up with the 4th best QB fantasy performance in Week 2. "Beating" other QBs that actually won their games like Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, and Peyton Manning. Yes, for this seemingly out of nowhere performance we can thank garbage time.

Piling up stats in garbage time is no secret amongst fantasy players. Just ask Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson owners last year. There's a certain art to owning a player or players on a bad team, that you know once that defecit grows to double digits, the running and gunning come out. There's really no definitive way to assume a player will garner a lot of garbage time points, but so far RGIII has mastered it.

From Grantland's Bill Barnwell:

The final scores from these past two weeks undersell just how little Washington has had to offer in its opening contests of 2013. Washington was down 24-0 at the end of the first half against the Packers on Sunday, and the Eagles took it to the woodshed with a 26-7 halftime lead last Monday; that's a 43-point halftime gap over the first two games of the year.*

*Also, that 7 points that Washington scored against the Eagles was a defensive touchdown. So Washington's offense has been in a 50-0 hole.

Out of that mess came two very solid RGIII fantasy performances. While no one will mistaken these past two weeks as RGIII playing well, it's worth noting that even though Washington FC might be heading for a rough year, it doesn't mean that the team will be dragging down RGIII or Alfred Morris - for that matter - with them. There's still a lot of fantasy value to be had when you treat your gameplan like Richard Sherman treats, well ... everyone. Aside from the growing injury concerns in the nation's capital, I still view RGIII as a worthwile fantasy play moving forward. It's clear that he is not able or not comfortable running like he used to, but it's also clear that the NFC East has a collection of the worst defenses in all of football. With a slate of games that are sure to be high scoring against poor defenses, RGIII - even without running - could easily finish a top 10 QB barring injury/benching by cashing in on the seemingly gigantic amount of garbage time that will be coming his way. As the season progresses, his health should improve making a top 5 ranking in reach, but Washington as a whole look to not be a competitive team this year.

It may not be pretty on Sunday's, but Tuesday morning is what we're all shooting for.

Eddie Royal has 5 touchdowns already. (wtnh.com)

Among the large amount of significant Week 3 injuries, let's see who is worth our time. Onwards!

Eddie Royal, WR - SD (23%) @ TEN

Sure it was easy to ignore Royal's Week 1 performance, and many people did. Week 2 however caught the attention of everyone. Three touchdowns albeit against the horrid Eagles' secondary established Royal as at least a fantasy bench option moving forward. We've seen the situation before where a breakout game ultimately leads to nothing, but Royal has always had an ability to be productive. He had 91 receptions for 980 yards and 5 TDs in 2008, but since then he hasn't really had steady opportunities. What he's getting in San Diego is just that. New head coach Mike McCoy might not have been counting on Royal when he took over the job, but injuries to Malcolm Floyd and Denario Alexander have given Royal a window of opportunity to succeed. Also, don't sleep on the San Diego offense, McCoy was the offensive coordinator for the Broncos the last two years where he built a highly effective offense behind two of the most drastically different quarterbacks you can find: Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning.


Ryan Broyles, WR - DET (25%), Nate Burleson, WR - DET (10%) +Washington Redskins 

Wide receivers against Washington! All of them! Broyles should make his season debut this week, and I'd expect him to get used to suiting up moving forward.

Isaiah Pead, RB - STL (14%) +Dallas Cowboys 

Daryl Richardson owners, just go get him.

Percy Harvin, WR - SEA (31%) Injured

Word is the medical staff in Seatlle is doing some interesting stuff. Harvin indicated that a Week 7 return isn't out of the question. Seems like a great time to stash him in case. Sure, this could be just a super competitive athlete's optimism, but who knows? If you're looking for an immediate impact guy, Doug Baldwin (8%) is always underrated.

PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

James Starks, RB - GB (10%) +Cincinnati Bengals 

I said it before in my running back preview, but when it comes to the Packers, I just do not trust them to run the ball affectively. Eddie Lacy suffered a concussion on a finable hit by Washington safety Brandon Merriweather. There'd probably be a lot more bad blood going around if Merriweather didn't get some of his own comeuppance by later suffering a concussion of his own trying to take down Starks in a similar manner. There's certainly not much to work with based on Lacy's touches so far this year. It's difficult to judge him on the 14 carries he had against Seattle, and one 10 yard carry on Sunday doesn't make things any clearer.

If you need a Packers RB, then Starks is your guy. Just keep in mind that his breakout performance took place in 2010's postseason. He's failed to impress since then, and his performance on Sunday was against a clearly overmatched defense who were already defeated once he touched the pigskin. Depending on how long Lacy is out, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers dial up Willis McGahee or Michael Turner. He's taken your FAAB money before. Don't let him do it again.


THE 1%

Andre Ellington, RB - ARZ (1%) @ NO

Rashard Medenhall has probably exceeded expectations thus far for fantasy owners, but Ellington has impressed Cardinals Head Coach Bruce Arians. It appears Ellington has already taken over as the third down back in Arizona, and the rookie 6th round pick is inching closer to Mendenhall on the depth chart. It would probably take an injury for Ellington to displace Mendenhall, but that's never out of the question.

BOX OFFICE BOOMER

I don't envision this being a recurring section, but for everyone wondering why the Patriots don't go get Brandon Lloyd, well here's a fun fact about what he's up to.

Brandon Lloyd - WR, FA (2%)

Free agent WR Brandon Lloyd stars in an upcoming zombie movie called "After Effect."

Advice: Maybe now we know why Lloyd has rejected inquiries from at least six NFL teams, including the desperate Patriots. He landed a role in this direct-to-DVD movie as Sargent Chuck Lloyd. The movie stars Daniel Baldwin. Lloyd is just 32 years old and posted a 70/966/5 line last year, but he appears done with the NFL.

More: masslive.com

(Rotoworld.com)

FAABulous: Fantasy Football 2013 Pre-Season Ranks - QB

Joe Flacco proved himself to be an elite QB in reality, but in fantasy, much remains the same. (msn.foxsports.com)

I like having a steady QB situation on my fantasy teams. I'm not one to try to piecemeal together my imaginary team's signal caller. No position has a higher floor on a week to week basis than QB, so why wouldn't I want to pencil in 20-25 points every week and just focus on everything else?

If you do a snake draft, well, the picks may not always break in your favor. You might have to build around two mid-range guys and hope one breaks out, or if it's last year just grab a rookie QB that's the age a rookie qb should be.

This year, you won't be so lucky as to nab a rookie QB that can lead your team to a fantasy title, but the good news is that these now second-year QBs have added immense depth to the fantasy QB pool. All 4 of 2012's breakout stars are in the Top 11 of my rankings, and all of them have the potential to do even more damage this year.

In my rankings, I suppose I tend to lean a bit more on QB's that are secure in their position. Not only job-wise, obviously, but also the protection and skill weapons they have around them. Since I tend to put a higher value on QB than most, I want to make sure the guy I take is as sure-fire as can be. That's a little easier to gauge near the bottom portion of the rankings, but once you get near the top, it's when some of this picking nits really shows itself. So let's run through the tiers together, shall we.

TIER FANTASY BACK-UPS

25. Ryan Tannehill, MIA

24. Matt Schaub, HOU

23. Alex Smith, KC

22. Carson Palmer, ARZ

You always like to have 2 QBs in your 1 QB league for insurance purposes? Don't want to go dig up Christian Ponder off waivers during a bye week? Here are your guys. People that given a match-up and a situation can certainly be a worthwhile sub to your elite QB.

The surprising pick in this tier might be Schaub, but I'm not nervous about dropping him. Schaub has decent numbers at the end of every year, but there isn't a QB more likely to give you 0 TDs than Schaub (did it 5 times last year). He did have a 4 TD and 5 TD game, so like I said, match-ups.

TIER WILL THEY-WON'T THEY

21. Sam Bradford, STL

20. Josh Freeman, TB

19. Philip Rivers, SD

18. Andy Dalton, CIN

17. Jay Cutler, CHI

All of these QBs are at a point in their career where we really need to see something out of them this year to dictate where their fantasy future lies. There have been flashes of greatness from these players, but there has also been an inability to keep that level of perfomance up for a full season.

It's sad to see Rivers here. He looked to be every bit the QB his fellow draft classmates Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger were, and for fantasy purposes he looked to be even better. But perhaps it's injuries, attitude and team that have dragged him down.

Bradford is the guy that is the least accomplished of this group. The benefactor of the no rookie draft slot era, Bradford hasn't come close to paying back the $50M in guaranteed money he signed for after he was drafted #1 overall from Oklahoma. I do feel like it's between him and Freeman in this tier for who has the most upside to offer. Bradford has an improved offensive line and some legit speed and athleticism lining up along side him. It'll be up to him to gel this unit together and do what great quarterbacks do ... elevate his team to a new level.

TIER FLEAS

16. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT

15. Michael Vick, PHI

14. Joe Flacco, BAL

13. Tony Romo, DAL

12. Eli Manning, NYG

We know these players. We know what they can do, we know what they can't do. We know their strengths, but ultimately we know their weaknesses that befall them. Whether it's injuries, inconsistency, or just steady play none of these guys have high ceilings or low floors.

The first two on this list, Big Ben and Vick, I have some serious questions about. Roethlisberger's injuries are mounting and this Steelers team looks to be the weakest in a long-time. Roethlisberger has never been an elite fantasy player so those strikes against him threaten to drop him significantly.

Someone that was once a valuable fantasy commodity in Michael Vick may not even have the job out of training camp. New Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has preached an open competition for running out of the big inflatable helmet priviledges. Insiders and/or Vick haters already have to job going to Nick Foles, but we shall see. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Vick doesn't get the job. Regardless of what Kelly's NFL offense looks like, the number one skill needed will be making quick reads and decisions. Not read-option, not the ability to scramble, but knowing the defenses and how to audible appropriately. Two things that Vick is abhorrent at. However, in this tier, his ability to potentially thrive in the offense along with his running ability gives him some bonus points.

TIER JUMP STREET

11. Andrew Luck, IND

10. Colin Kaepernick, SF

9. Matthew Stafford, DET

8. Tom Brady, NE

All of these guys could easily overthrow the next tier. A couple may even be knocking on the doors of the top tier come the end of the 2013-2014 season. Right now though, there are some minor questions as a side dish to their major upside entree.

Andrew Luck is, skill wise, one of the best QBs in football. He had a fantastic rookie year, but let's be honest, he had an easy schedule and to his credit was able to put his team in a position to win a lot of games. But comfort wise you have to wonder how new offensive coordinator's Pep Hamilton will use the Stanford offense Luck commanded in the NFL (can we please call Hamilton the Director of Offense, please? If not, can we make this Luck's official nickname?) and if Luck's lack of offensive talent around him will start to show.

A lot has happened to Tom Brady in the off-season. The short of it is he lost 2 of his top 3 passing targets, and the third has had more surgeries in the past year than Brady has played in Super Bowls. When you get yourself purposefully removed from Madden, you know you've done gone done something bad. It is hard to tell if Brady will be able to overcome all of this. While effecient as ever running the Pats high-octane offense, you have to have doubts as to who is going to come through on offense. This can either break with Brady making stars out of Danny Amendola and Daniel Fells or them dragging him down.

TIER WORTHY OF THE HYPE

7. Robert Griffin III, WAS

6. Russell Wilson, SEA

5. Matt Ryan, ATL

4. Cam Newton, CAR

Sure RG3 and Wilson have some questions around them, but last year they had a lot of great answers. RG3 obviously has the injury to deal with. He appears to be getting back to full strength, and barring a setback he will be ready to go Week 1. Even if he's limited on his feet, RG3 is an extremely accurate passer on short, medium, and deep throws. The guy is a weapon.

The addition of Percy Harvin isn't the only reason to look forward to a greater year out of Wilson, but Harvin's hip injury and migraine history leads me to think he might not be as big an impact player as we all want him to be.

I was really looking forward to banking on the Matt Ryan last year of his contract bandwagon. Thanks for nothing, Atlanta.

Killa Cam is a guy that is going to make me or break me this year. In this ranking, I'm at my most optimistic about him, but I can't say there aren't concerns. Last year was a marginal improvement or step down for Cam depending on what you're looking at. His sophomore year was overshadowed by the new crop of rookie QBs and attitude issues continued to follow Cam as his Panthers finished 7-9 and were completely average.

The Panthers focused on defense in the draft, which shoudn't be followed with an eye roll. If the Panthers can get more turnovers, stop more drives from developing, then that means Newton gets back on the field sooner and more often. However, the front office did nothing in free agency to help Newton out. Fringe players like Ted Ginn might amount to one spectacular play, but that's about it. The short of it is, this team isn't much different from last year. So what I'm basically relying on is his inability to get hurt because he's gigantic, an uptick in his passing efficiency, his run game, and Carolina utilizing the read-option better this year with his bloated RB corps. If he can take large strides in his pass game, then #1 overall player is a possibility.

TIER DISCO

3. Peyton Manning, DEN

2. Drew Brees, NO

1. Aaron Rodgers, GB

There aren't many concers about these three. If you're particularly nervous about any of them, then you probaby do mock drafts in your reinforced bomb shelter.

Manning has somethings like age and injuries to underline, but that's why he's third on the list. He has the most elite group of wide receivers in the league who all perfectly fit what he wants to do. If Manning takes futher control of the offense this year, I don't see why they couldn't run more plays per game and really pile up the offensive numbers.

Brees throws and he throws a lot. His interceptions went up a tick in 2012, but when you throw as often has he does, they will tend to happen. So long as the TD passes don't drop 15-18 INTs are palatable.

Rodgers is again the best fantasy QB in the game. He passes, he runs effectively, he does everything you could want out of a high pick. He may never hit the heights of his ridiculous 2011 season, but his ability to perform at an elite level, consistently week in and week out with a group of skilled players around him at minimum injury risk makes him the best pick you can make at QB.

FAABulous: Fantasy Football Pick-ups Week 12

Dallas Clark's OT TD capped probably the greatest gambling moment of my life. (Getty)

FAABulous will recap the week of football activity and point fantasy owners where to spend their hard earned (not really) FAAB or waiver priority. Players will be owned in at most 50% of Yahoo! FFL. This is the one time where mo' money probably wouldn't mean mo' problems.

No one likes to hear about gambling wins. Gambling losses are usually much more pleasurable in a schadenfreude kind of way than how someone hit on their 4 team parlay, but I feel I must jot this particular gambling win down in the annals of history so that I can reflect on this when I'm old and gray. What occurred on Sunday might just be the apex of my gambling life.

Anyone that gambles on sports knows the feeling of sitting on your couch staring at all of the games going on and realizing your 3 team parlay is dead and buried. You have about 20 minutes to mull over whether to double down and try to make your money back in the afternoon games, or just cut your losses.

I was pondering this on Sunday probably the same time my younger brother was placing bets for the afternoon games.

We've both gambled on football for a bit. I'm less intense about it than he is. I'll use www.sportsbook.ag, while he has a bookie. I'll usually bet less money than he does, but we do enjoy it and as disturbing as it sounds, it's a good way to stay in touch. We will text or call Sunday morning to discuss games we like and games we don't. Get another perspective on things and see if we come to an agreement on teasers or parlays that could work out for us.

Most of the time we go our own way, but on Sunday we came to an agreement on a 3 team parlay.

Our bet was as follows:

Eagles/Redskins under 45 points
Packers (-3)
Bucs (+1.5); although I think my brother got them as a pick-em

There's nothing Earth shattering about those picks, but how they came to win is what makes this bet perhaps the gambling apex of our lives.

**I'm sure there are real gamblers out there who spend thousands of dollars a week on bets, have won more money than I'll ever see and so on and so forth, but this is for me and my casual betting self. 

The bad news is, that it's never a good thing to realize the moment you hit your apex in anything. By defnition it's all down hill from here. The good news is, with gambling, you can never be exactly sure. The best gambling moment of your life will always be in hindsight, less you win Powerball and collect a couple hundred million dollars. I can sit here right now, and say, yes, that's probably my gambling apex, but I have no idea. There could be a 5 team teaser in my future or...even who knows what kind of gambling options will even be available 10 years from now? This may be a drop in the bucket...at least that's what I have to tell myself to continue gambling and having fun doing it.

That does not apply for your sexual apex. If you're just a regular guy, then I'm pretty sure most of us know exactly when our sexual apex hit. A moment where, yes, it may not get better than this. Like, if you somehow find yourself in bed with Mila Kunis, it's probably time to jump off a high building (John Mayer need not take note of this).

For some the sexual apex is more obscure, or in reality not much of an apex, but a high note. A blip on the fooling around radar. For others it's a thunderous body slam that rocks your world forever. A friend told me that he knows a guy that knows a guy that took a certain famous actresses virginity while they were in high school. They went to prom together and there's photographic evidence of that. Whether they went all the way, well, I'm not cracking open an investigation. But if you're that guy and you got it on with this B-list actress, then where do you go from there? It's not like you're going to meet Kate Upton at the supermarket. For the rest of your life, that will be - without a doubt - your sexual calling card.

Dates may not seem as sweet, the allure of a woman might be limited to the fact that she hasn't starred in movies and TV shows, or let's face it, you may just not nab a better looking chick for the rest of your life.

So the good news is: I've never had sex with an any letter actress and I can still pretend my gambling apex hasn't happened. Go gambling!

Like most things this season, unfortunately, the outcome of the Eagles game was never in doubt. The Skins were on cruise control, and this Eagles offense has put up more than 20 points only 3 times all year. Final score WAS 31 Eagles 6.

However, the other two games looked like lost causes. The Packers had been struggling most of the day against Detroit, and the Bucs were down 10 against the Panthers with 6:00 minutes left.

When Doug Martin fumbled at the goal line with at the end of the 3rd quarter leading to a Panthers TD drive, I'd say things were just about sunk.

On the subsequent Bucs drive, they made a 40 yard field goal courtesy of Connor Barth, making it 21-13 with 4:03 remaining in the game.

My brother and I were both thinking that Cam Newton owed us a pick 6, as he hadn't thrown an INT all game, but that was not in the cards. We did get something positive, which was a punt after the Panthers had run off 3:01 of game time. The legendary Josh Freeman had the ball with 1:02 remaining in the 4th quarter, down 8.

Meanwhile, in Green Bay, the Packers had taken the lead from the Lions. An Aaron Rodgers led 82 yard drive ended in a Randall Cobb floating TD pass (his 7th TD catch of the year, by the way). The next Lions possession was lost on downs and netted -5 yards. The Pack were up with 1:19 left in the 4th quarters.

Back in Tampa, Josh Freeman had no timeouts and needed a TD. What happened next was a 7 play 80 yard TD drive that lasted all of 50 seconds. Freeman's TD pass to Vincent Jackson was a laser between three Carolina defenders.

While Freeman was doing his thing, the Packers had run out the clock the best they could. With 19 seconds left they kicked a field goal to go up 24-20. In real life, this served to force the Lions to have to score a TD, but it was pretty insignificant. How insignificant? I couldn't even find a picture of the field goal kick on ESPN's game wrap. In gambling life, the Packers had covered, and Mason Crosby owed everyone that bet on the Packers as he had missed his previous 2 field goal opportunities that day.

So now, in the span of 4 minutes of NFL game time, our bet had gone from dead to very much alive. The Eagles/Skins and the Packers were in the books. The Bucs had just made an improbably drive, but still needed the two point conversion to force overtime. Freeman dropped back and found his best friend (and now, probably mine) Jackson on a slant for the conversion. We were going to overtime.

The Bucs got the ball first, which under the new rules, doesn't mean a whole lot, unless you score a TD. They were again on their own 20 with 80 yards of grass to go. Huh, some deja vu for Josh.

He had his timeouts now and could utilize Martin as a result. The Panthers were reeling and after some big Martin runs, Freeman was able to ice the cake with a 15 yard pass to Dallas Clark. Touchdown! Bucs win! Our parlay wins!

From losing hope for a day to having a complete turnaround in about 8 minutes of NFL game time with all of those games going on simultaneously was crazy, crazy, crazy. My life gambling bar is set pretty high. I'll probably never put $10,000 on black or be in a high stakes baccarat game like James Bond, so I guess the goal now is to somehow top this one.

I have a feeling I'll fall short a good amount of times.

Onto some adds for Week 12. As playoffs near, injuries have been a big part of the narrative last week as well as this one. However, this week, some bigger fantasy impact players took a tumble. As I've mentioned most times this season, just because a back-up gets the starting job, it's not a reason to jump all over him. There are always good back-up and just back-ups.

I'm a very important person! (philly.com)

Bryce Brown, RB - PHI (5% owned) CAR

Bryce Brown is a rookie running back for Philadelphia. Something else you may know about him is that he was taken in the 7th round. You might even know he ran a 4.37 40 at the combine. Here's something you may not know, coming out of college, he was ranked higher than Trent Richardson and Matt Barkley which makes sense because he was the top recruit in all of high school football his Senior year. So yeah, he was a big deal back in the day. To say he has the pedigree would be an overstatement. He transferred to Kansas St. after a year at Tennessee, then had a multitude of issues that completely derailed his once promising career. With LeSean McCoy getting a concussion late Sunday, there's no reason the Eagles should bring him back Monday against Carolina, and they should probably sit McCoy longer than that.

Brown has yet to prove himself above the high school level and will be running behind a horrible offensive line, but against a weak defense. Monday Night seems like an interesting time for Brown to shine and let people know who he is.

Lance Ball, RB - DEN (2%) @KC

Another injury knocked Willis McGahee out for most likely the rest of the season with an MCL tear. The play here is Ronnie Hillman, but I profiled him back in Week 4 as an add, so for the sake of repeating myself, Lance Ball is the other option in Denver. With Denver's offense the way it is and Philadelphia likely plugging McCoy back as soon as he's healthy, Hillman is the big free agent this week.

Justin Blackmon, WR - JAX (27%) TEN

Blackmon was late arriving to the 2012 rookie bonanza, but he kicked in the door and made sure people took notice. It's interesting what will happen when a wide receiver has a quarterback that actually throws the football and takes chances. Some of Blackmon's biggest plays, including an overturned TD catch due to a holding penalty were jump balls that Chad Henne threw up there for him. Blackmon was a high pick for a reason. He has the physicality that can set him apart from a big possession receiver.

With his titanic 236 yds 1 TD performance, the stock will be high for Blackmon, but that game against the Texans was just screwy. With Henne keeping the job I like Blackmon a bit more moving forward, but I won't expect any repeat performances.

Julian Edelman, WR - NE (4%) @NYJ

The biggest injury of the weekend was Rob Gronkowski breaking his forearm. The TD machine was injured on the 59th point of the game. An extra point. Grand.

There will obviously be a redistribution of looks in New England, but with Aaron Hernandez finally due back from his high ankle sprain, the Pats may not lose much of a step. One player that has come on recently has been Edelman. he had a big week last week and unless the Pats have a lot of confidence in Visanthe Schancoe, any leftovers could be Edelman's for the taking.


PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED

Jalon Parmalee, RB - JAX (6%) TEN

We've been here with Rashad Jennings and we're still here looking to replace Maurice Jones-Drew. Parmalee isn't the answer just like Jennings wasn't. Only if you're desperate should you add Parmalee.


THE 1%

Shane Vereen, RB - NE (6%) @NYJ

A better RB option would be Vereen. The offensive benefits are clear, and Bill Belichick has shown that although Stevan Ridley is the starter, there's still room for Vereen.