FDH Insider: NFL Week 13 (Thurs. Nov. 29)

Tonight’s version of THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) will provide the variety you have come to expect from us during the course of our 3 ½ years on the air.

9 PM: We break down what has already become a busy start to the Hot Stove period in baseball and how the moves made thus far will affect fantasy players in ’08.

9:35 PM: We engage in our weekly game-by-game fantasy analysis for the weekend’s NFL slate of action.

10:40 PM: College action now consumes our focus, as we look back on last week’s college hoops team draft and ahead to next week’s college football bowl draft. In both instances, we demonstrate how to set up a pool that awards points based on how each owner’s selected NCAA teams perform on the field.

NFL Week 13 Fantasy Notes

NOTE: Our advice, as it does on our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER weekly program (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), is based on helping you determine which of your marginal starters are worth a play this week. Hopefully, your initial draft/auction efforts were successful, because frankly, “playing the matchups” is far from an exact science regardless of what you will be told by other advisory services claiming to possess a crystal ball. But our weekly game notes are designed to try to help you maximize the potential of your situation. We will post this preface to the notes every week to remind you of the context of our advice.

Thursday, Nov. 29
Green Bay at Dallas, 8:15 pm It’s an all-in shootout with the highest stakes in the NFC – and it will be viewed by the 8 Americans who have NFL Network!

Sunday, Dec. 2
Atlanta at St. Louis 1:00 pm Ike Bruce merits a play, but non-Crumpler Falcons still do not.
Buffalo at Washington 1:00 pm The starting Redskin WRs will come up huge. Rookie QB Edwards is not a good play against a diminished, but highly fired-up Skin D.
Detroit at Minnesota 1:00 pm WR Johnson continues to come on even while the overall offense goes downhill and he’ll be big-time the latter part of the season.
Houston at Tennessee 1:00 pm Both offenses disappointed last week and certainly of the two, Schaub is the stronger QB with the weapons he now has.
Jacksonville at Indianapolis 1:00 pm Even with a tough matchup, RB Taylor needs to be in your lineup. WR Williams, off of a fluke performance, does not.
N.Y. Jets at Miami 1:00 pm Chatman is once again the back by default for the Fish and gets a very soft matchup here. The same can be said for disappointing RB Jones.
San Diego at Kansas City 1:00 pm Chambers will pick up momentum here and be a worthy part of the lineup. RB Smith won’t build on last week against a run defense that has been good (with one memorable exception, eh Matt Berry?).
Seattle at Philadelphia 1:00 pm As a #1 by default, Engram should be played this week, with Curtis and Brown much more suspect for the Philly wideout corps.
San Francisco at Carolina 1:00 pm RBs Foster and Williams remain players you need to start, like it or not (probably not!).
Tampa Bay at New Orleans 1:00 pm Notwithstanding recent success and the popular image of the Saint D, Graham is not a very good play here. Hilliard and Galloway will get plenty of looks in this one.
Cleveland at Arizona 4:05 pm All-in for a desert shootout!
Denver at Oakland 4:05 pm This will be a very mediocre fantasy game, but Fargas against a soft Bronco run D keeps this from being an all-out crapfest.
N.Y. Giants at Chicago 4:15 pm If healthy, Jacobs merits a play if for no other reason than goal-line opportunities. The “other” Adrian Peterson could run surprisingly well on the Giants.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh 8:15 pm RB Johnson is back, having scored a TD last week. Big Ben loves to feast against bottom-feeders and will do so again here.

Monday, Dec. 3
New England at Baltimore, 8:30 pm WR Mason will get plenty of catches, especially in garbage time (aka from the second quarter on!).

NFL Week 12 Fantasy Notes

NOTE: Our advice, as it does on our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER weekly program (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), is based on helping you determine which of your marginal starters are worth a play this week. Hopefully, your initial draft/auction efforts were successful, because frankly, “playing the matchups” is far from an exact science regardless of what you will be told by other advisory services claiming to possess a crystal ball. But our weekly game notes are designed to try to help you maximize the potential of your situation. We will post this preface to the notes every week to remind you of the context of our advice.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: No FDH Insider program this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from the FDH family!

Thursday, Nov. 22
Green Bay at Detroit 12:30 pm With two pretty prolific offenses, this might be surprising advice – all out! Neither team will be able to run the ball enough to keep the defenses honest.
N.Y. Jets at Dallas 4:15 pm The Jets will be playing from behind, probably early, so go with Cotchery and Coles. In the battle of the Jones’, each is worth starting.
Indianapolis at Atlanta 8:15 pm Sans Harrison, the Colts’ O is not the same. Regardless of any factors, the Falcons’ O continues to suck. All out.

Sunday, Nov. 25
Buffalo at Jacksonville 1:00 pm RB Taylor and WR Evans are the best marginal starters in the game this week. With only three TDs between them, this looks to be the “progression to the mean” game for them.
Denver at Chicago 1:00 pm This will be a game of palpable desperation on both sides. Strangely, a game with Cutler and Grossman at the helm rates an “all in!” Both defenses are soft enough right now to allow opportunities for offensive progress to take hold.
Houston at Cleveland 1:00 pm The Texans are revitalized offensively with the return of WR Johnson. The Cleveland D is historically bad. All in!
Minnesota at N.Y. Giants 1:00 pm With injuries impacting the NY running game, the Manning-Toomer battery will be firing on all cylinders. Plus, the Vikes are far more vulnerable against the run than the pass.
New Orleans at Carolina 1:00 pm Both Panther RBs are worth a look here, as the team will be doing whatever it can to keep the Saint O off the field. Repetition equals opportunity!
Oakland at Kansas City 1:00 pm In a game with two bad offenses and two fairly average defenses, there sure are a lot of good opportunities here. While Bowe has leveled off a bit lately, he may get some chances in this one. Curry will be able to exploit the Chief defense as well.
Seattle at St. Louis 1:00 pm Both offenses are trending up and neither defense is anything special. All in!
Tennessee at Cincinnati 1:00 pm Why is Vince Young struggling? We told you all year long that the Titan front office was hanging him out to dry with the WR “talent” on the roster. As such, while Young merits a start against the horrible Bengal D, the Tennessee wideouts merit the only exception to an “all in” recommendation in this game.
Washington at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm Owing completely to the balance of both offenses, all in!
San Francisco at Arizona 4:05 pm Call this the Predictability Bowl – you know who you start for each of these teams, and it will be the same as usual here.
Baltimore at San Diego 4:15 pm Even with the uneven passing games, Mason and Chambers will be getting a lot of looks from their quarterbacks.
Philadelphia at New England 8:15 pm With a wobbly Feeley in for McNabb, even Curtis and Brown in a game where Philly will be way behind won’t be worth much.

Monday, Nov. 26
Miami at Pittsburgh, 8:30 pm With Holmes down and Ricky Williams unproven right now (to be very, very kind!), the only marginal fantasy player for this game is WR Ward.

NFL Week 11 Fantasy Notes

NOTE: Our advice, as it does on our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER weekly program (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), is based on helping you determine which of your marginal starters are worth a play this week. Hopefully, your initial draft/auction efforts were successful, because frankly, “playing the matchups” is far from an exact science regardless of what you will be told by other advisory services claiming to possess a crystal ball. But our weekly game notes are designed to try to help you maximize the potential of your situation. We will post this preface to the notes every week to remind you of the context of our advice.

Sunday, Nov. 18
Arizona at Cincinnati 1:00 pm An all-in air show!
Carolina at Green Bay 1:00 pm Grant and Jennings should be able to put up good production against a reeling Panther team. The Foster/Williams tandem should be sitting.
Cleveland at Baltimore 1:00 pm Notwithstanding the horrible Browns’ defense, Mason is the only marginal player in the Baltimore passing game to merit starting here. Lewis doesn’t have a good matchup here, a punch-in at the goal line looks like the best-case scenario.
Kansas City at Indianapolis 1:00 pm The Croyle mistake will set back the KC O even further, starting here. WR Thorpe will get many footballs coming his way from Manning.
Miami at Philadelphia 1:00 pm Since the Miami pass defense is far better than their runstoppers, this is a surprising all-out game for marginal starters (Miami doesn’t merit any starters at all until further notice).
New Orleans at Houston 1:00 pm The Katrina Relocation Bowl features a few occasional starters worth a look: WRs Patten and Walter and TE Daniels). Andre Johnson owners will be happy for the first time in quite awhile.
Oakland at Minnesota 1:00 pm So much has gone downhill for both teams since Super Bowl XI! While both defenses are vulnerable, this is an all-out game considering the putrid state of the offenses.
San Diego at Jacksonville 1:00 pm RB Taylor will get enough use in the rotation with Jones-Drew to give the Jags two fantasy starters in the backfield. Rivers is not a good start, but Chambers will be.
Tampa Bay at Atlanta 1:00 pm Don’t read too much into Atlanta’s recent success. All of the marginal Bucs should be going here, though.
N.Y. Giants at Detroit 1:00 pm Johnson should be matched against nickel and dime backs, not the strength of the Giant D, so he should go off big-time. No RBs appear poised for a big game based on matchups.
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Jets 4:05 pm Inasmuch as we don’t consider any element of the Steeler passing game as an optional start, this is another all-out game.
Washington at Dallas 4:15 pm The Skins should be playing from behind and therefore passing a great deal, so all-in!
St. Louis at San Francisco 4:15 pm Ike Bruce is the only non slam-dunk starter in this game. The 49’er offense is radioactive right now, but still not to the point of benching Gore. Never panic and sit the players you need the most, no matter how disappointing they have been.
Chicago at Seattle 4:15 pm Hasselbeck is back to every-week status, as the passing game is the dominant component of the offense. Look for Engram to keep finding a way to be productive and monitor the health of Alexander.
New England at Buffalo 8:15 pm Just as the Skins will be struggling to keep up in their game, so will the Bills – so Losman is worth a look for once, if only for garbage time. Watson should be back and in your lineup as well.

Monday, Nov. 19
Tennessee at Denver, 8:30 pm Our forecast about the demise of the Titan passing game was right – more talent is needed at WR. Beware of RB Henry against this defense even if he’s healthy. RB White will run rampant, however.

FDH Insider: NFL Week 11 & College Hoops Draft

THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER brings you one of its greatest episodes yet this Thursday night, November 15, during its normal timeslot of 9-11 PM EST on SportsTalkNetwork.com. In our first hour, we'll bring you our college hoops team draft, an event that exemplifies the unique nature of the FDH brand. On our college hoops home page on FDH, we bring you suggested league guidelines and our draft board for a pool in which you and your friends collect college basketball teams for a pool based on how they perform. Our mock draft will serve as an example of how you can hold your own and will demonstrate our estimation of the expected performance levels of the top teams. In our second hour, we'll delve into our NFL Week 11 game-by-game notes to prepare you for the stretch run in fantasy football.

The FDH Insider covers many sports tonight!

On tonight's edition of THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) we cover many different aspects of the fantasy sports world as always:

9 PM: Before we get into our NFL Week 10 game-by-game breakdown, we will back up momentarily and examine some general fantasy football "dos and don'ts." Specifically, in the context of a STN colleague weeping like a small girl about some advice we administered and this Matthew Berry advice to bench Adrian Peterson the week of his 296-yard effort -- we'll examine the fundamental question of what type of player should be on the bubble each week and how to approach the matchups.

9:20 PM: We break down NFL Week 10 game-by-game. Check the entry just below this one for our weekly notes to help you through your team management for the week.

10:20 PM: We get into Part II of our early examination of fantasy baseball for 2008. We will reference something you really need to read to prepare yourself to deal with the under-the-radar changes in the sport right now -- this article on our main FDH baseball page.

10:45 PM: We preview our college basketball team draft on next week's show. Go to our brand-new FDH college hoops page to check out our draft board and suggested league guidelines. We'll break it all down in this segment.

Join us tonight for another edition of the fastest-paced two hours on STN each week.

NFL Week 10 Fantasy Notes

NOTE: Our advice, as it does on our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER weekly program (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), is based on helping you determine which of your marginal starters are worth a play this week. Hopefully, your initial draft/auction efforts were successful, because frankly, “playing the matchups” is far from an exact science regardless of what you will be told by other advisory services claiming to possess a crystal ball. But our weekly game notes are designed to try to help you maximize the potential of your situation. We will post this preface to the notes every week to remind you of the context of our advice.

Week 10

Sunday, Nov. 11
Atlanta at Carolina 1:00 pm Stay with WR Smith, even though he faces longer odds on production right now than any other superstar at his position -- you'll hate yourself if he breaks a big one, as he could any time he touches the ball. Don't jump on the Dunn/White bandwagon in the A-T-L just yet.
Buffalo at Miami 1:00 pm WR Evans is the only marginal player to merit a look here.
Cleveland at Pittsburgh 1:00 pm RB Lewis is the only exception to the "all-in" recommendation in a game that should be a now-patented Cleveland shootout.
Denver at Kansas City 1:00 pm Against a horrible run defense, Holmes actually merits a start (what is this, 2002?) if Johnson can't go. Beware of anybody in the passing game on either side, aside of course from Gonzalez.
Jacksonville at Tennessee 1:00 pm The Jag passing game was good against New Orleans -- big aberration -- and the defense was horrible -- another big aberration. As such, no marginal starters recommended here.
Minnesota at Green Bay 1:00 pm Jennings is approaching every-week status. The Minnesota passing game & Green Bay running game remain radioactive.
Philadelphia at Washington 1:00 pm With the Skins figuring to play a conservative style and the Eagle passing game in flux, we don't recommend any marginal starters here.
St. Louis at New Orleans 1:00 pm No marginal plays recommended here (except WR Patten), including RB Leonard if Jackson can't go -- the Saint run D has been surprisingly stout.
Cincinnati at Baltimore 4:05 pm A short week for the struggling Raven O and injuries to a Bengal offense facing a still-potent Raven D (notwithstanding Monday Night!) spells no marginal starters here.
Chicago at Oakland 4:15 pm Benson finally breaks out against a surprisingly poor Oakland run D. Stay away from anyone in either passing game.
Dallas at N.Y. Giants 4:15 pm All-in!
Detroit at Arizona 4:15 pm Based on their play and the red-hot Lions' roll, the Cards should be playing from behind & chucking it a lot. All-in on both sides!
Indianapolis at San Diego 8:15 pm With both teams coming off emotional losses, an all-in shootout looms.

Monday, Nov. 12
San Francisco at Seattle, 8:30 pm If you've mistakenly hedged on TE Davis yet, don't do it again here. Morris, Branch and Jackson should step up as well.

Bye: Houston, New England, N.Y. Jets, Tampa Bay

College hoops team draft board now online

We just posted our college hoops team draft board and suggested league guidelines to the FDH mothership. It's right here.

We will be having a college basketball mock draft on THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) on our November 15 edition of the program. Join us to hear how to conduct a pool like this with your friends and to see how the FDH and STN talents have the teams slotted.

FDH Insider: NFL Week 9 (Thurs. Nov. 1)

Tonight, THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER (9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com) comes your way once again with the fastest-paced two hours on STN.

9:00 PM: We break down NFL Week 9 game-by-game, including a peek at the most compelling regular season game in more than a decade.

10:15 PM: We review our report that has challenged the notions you may have about how to compile a team right now in fantasy baseball – and what our conclusions mean for the 2008 season.

10:40 PM: We take our first look at the college hoops season. We’ll bring your our 2007-2008 college hoops team draft two weeks from tonight, an event in which we will demonstrate how to set up a pool to award points based on the success of the teams you compile. Tonight, we check out the overall college basketball landscape and what has and has not changed since last year’s Final Four.

Join us tonight as always for the best and broadest-based fantasy sports coverage anywhere on SportsTalkNetwork.com!

NFL Week 9 Fantasy Notes

NOTE: Our advice, as it does on our FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER weekly program (Thursdays, 9-11 PM EDT on SportsTalkNetwork.com), is based on helping you determine which of your marginal starters are worth a play this week. Hopefully, your initial draft/auction efforts were successful, because frankly, “playing the matchups” is far from an exact science regardless of what you will be told by other advisory services claiming to possess a crystal ball. But our weekly game notes are designed to try to help you maximize the potential of your situation. We will post this preface to the notes every week to remind you of the context of our advice.

Sunday, Nov. 4
Arizona at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm Notwithstanding the shaky (health) QB situation in ‘Zona and the many injuries in Tampa right now, this is an “all in” game for your fantasy starters this week. An entertaining shootout should materialize.
Carolina at Tennessee 1:00 pm The Carolina “Road Warriors” should have another great game away from their unfriendly home confines! But this is a rare “all out” game in which the defenses figure to statistically neutralize all marginal starters.
Cincinnati at Buffalo 1:00 pm Monitor the Watson/Johnson RB situation: if Rudi can play, both are worth starting because Watson won’t be abandoned altogether. Even without Edwards at the helm, Evans retains value this week against the woeful Bengal D.
Denver at Detroit 1:00 pm Marshall is an every-week start until Walker is healthy. Lions Jones and Johnson have been emerging lately and deserve to crack your lineup here.
Green Bay at Kansas City 1:00 pm Stay away from any Packer RBs until they can consistently prove themselves. Bowe is the only marginal player worth anything in this Super Bowl I rematch.
Jacksonville at New Orleans 1:00 pm Both Jag RBs should get a look in this game. We saw glimpses last week of how Patten can fit into the New Orleans offense and he is the best fantasy sleeper option anywhere this week.
San Diego at Minnesota 1:00 pm Chambers is already an every-week start in his new home. The horrific Viking QB situation continues to doom everyone not named “Peterson.”
San Francisco at Atlanta 1:00 pm QB Smith has been hurt and rusty, but should get well at least statistically here. As we’ve been saying all along, stay away from any Falcon not named Crumpler.
Washington at N.Y. Jets 1:00 pm Progression to the mean meets motivation against a former team: Moss has been very overdue and will break out against the outmanned Jets.
Seattle at Cleveland 4:05 pm Stay away from RB Lewis, who should play some but is not 100% healthy – and with the swift Wright and speedy Harrison proving to be very legitimate options for Cleveland behind a retooled offensive line, his value won’t spike up drastically even when/if he gets 100% healthy. If Branch plays as expected, he’ll prosper against an inexplicably poor Browns’ D.
Houston at Oakland 4:15 pm All Raiders should be sitting, but emerging WR Walter should be in your lineup.
New England at Indianapolis 4:15 pm All in -- hopefully, you didn’t need us to tell you that! Also, check out this article for some good general game analysis.
Dallas at Philadelphia 8:15 pm This is another all-in game, a shootout under the lights in which the balanced offenses for both teams will override the strengths of Ron Rivera & Jim Johnson’s schemes.

Monday, Nov. 5
Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 8:30 pm The one marginal player worth anything in this likely field goal slog is WR Mason, who has prospered through dump-off passes this year.

Bye: Chicago, Miami, N.Y. Giants, St. Louis

NHL line combinations

It's extraordinarily difficult to find online information about current NHL line combinations in-season. This link is not completely current (it's from the start of the season), but it's probably the best you'll find on the Internet. Good luck!