NFL officials have a very hard job. The game is so big, and so fast, it is amazing sometimes just how good officials in the NFL are. I have seen many plays that during live action looked one way, the official called it the other way, and replay proves him right. I give NFL refs a lot of grief from time to time. But for the most part I really think they do a pretty good job given the difficulty of their position.

NFL replay officials on the other hand, have a very easy job. The replays are so clear and so slow. With so many camera angles. All you have to do is find indisputable evidence to overturn a call. Or not.

Indisputable video evidence. It seems simple. The video evidence must be indisputable. No questions. No judgement calls. Either you see it or you don’t.

There was no indisputable evidence for the play at the end of the Steelers game.

While degenerates across the land jumped for joy after the Steelers improbable cover on the last play of the game, the happy dance was short lived. Because a replay official with an easy job, and clear and concise instructions on how to do that job, went outside the realm of his authority. He made a judgement call. Why?

Since the outcome of that replay review had no affect on the winner of the game, why would a replay official feel compelled to reverse the call on the field? The only consequence of his decision was that of fantasy teams and gambling degenerates across the land. None of us could see indisputable evidence. Did we? It is being disputed all over the sports networks the day after. Evidently the replay official saw something indisputable the rest of us idiots can’t see.

The first thing that comes to my mind when something like that happens is that somebody had a “brother in law” with his 401k riding on the Chargers. Or maybe this is one of those “rogue” guys the NBA was infested with. It has to cross your mind. Especially if you were one of the majority holding a Steelers -5 ticket.

According to ESPN approximately 64 mil exchanged hands as a result of that replay official making up the rules as he went along.

I don’t believe the NFL is rigged. I don’t want to believe any aspect of the NFL is rigged. I don’t want to believe that officials make subtle calls during the course of the game to affect it’s outcome, or a gavel slamming replay that shifts 64 million dollars in cache on a “meaningless” call.

Lots of power in that replay booth. Where was the commissioner? Did they not set up direct lines to get these calls right yet? The NHL does. The FREAKING NHL gets it right!!! Somebody could have snuffed out this controversy at its core without affecting the winner of the game, but here we are. Why? What was gained from over-turning that call? Other than a bunch of happy Vegas sportsbooks.

The Steelers were penalized a league high 115 yards. The visiting Chargers were penalized a league low 5 yards. If this case went to trial there would be a conviction based on circumstantial evidence alone.

The NFL better damn well know that incidents like this can chip away at the integrity they have fought hard to achieve, and give conspiracy theorist fuel for their fire. The fact that the NFL admitted the day after that they got it wrong is of little comfort to those who lost out on a decision that appears to those affected to be anything but arbitrary.

Though the NFL goes to great lengths to keep an arm’s distance from that dirty little word “gambling”, the fact is that the modern NFL has gambling as its bedrock and fantasy football as a foundation. The popularity of this sport is BUILT on gambling in one form or another.

You might want to tighten it up a bit there NFL. When people start to think the game is tilted too far out of their favor they lose interest. That replay official should be fired. He is either an indisputable idiot or an indisputable criminal. But knowing the NFL, he will indisputably be working the Superbowl. Along with Hochuli. That ought to be a giant pile of indisputable fun.

I mentioned a few waiver wire receivers a couple of weeks ago for the second half of the fantasy season. This week I would like to talk about a few guys that you should be looking at in your dynasty leagues. The landscape is changing a bit. I am out of the playoffs barring a “parting of the water” kind of miracle, so my re-building process is already well underway. I followed my own advice and grabbed Mark Bradley and Mike Walker last week. This week I am looking at these players.

Jason Hill: After his performance Monday night Hill is no longer a well kept dynasty sleeper secret. The word is out. If you like what you saw Monday night, you should be targeting this guy if you have the roster space. My dynasty is a 12 team 20 man roster league, so the players I am mentioning are right around that level of availability. Obviously Josh Morgan would also be on this list but in deeper leagues Morgan was snatched up weeks ago. Hill might actually end up better than Morgan. If he can stay healthy. If either can stay healthy. My kingdom for a healthy sleeper!!

Michael Jenkins: Let’s just say I have not been a fan. But, the numbers don’t lie. The coaches have turned Matt Ryan loose, and he is finding Jenkins with regularity now. And Jenkins is making the most of his opportunities. From a dynasty league standpoint, Jenkins is anything but a lock. But assuming he continues to perform like he has the last few weeks, and assuming he ends up the starter again next season, one could assume Jenkins could be a nice WR3 for your dynasty team. Matt Ryan has elevated the status of every player around him. Jenkins hasn’t been rostered in my dynasty league for quite awhile now, but he will be this week.

Tyler Thigpen: I already grabbed Tyler Thigpen on my WCOFF league before last week. And while he will no doubt garner a lot of interest in re-draft league waiver wires this week, he should absolutely be on a roster in every dynasty league. This kid has been absolutely nails the last 3 weeks. And if he didn’t have a team around him that looks like a triage unit, one might expect him to perform even better. The Chiefs are going nowhere this season, but they appear to have actually stumbled onto something with Thigpen. I have watched this guy and I am well on my way to being convinced he might just be something. He has looked every bit as good as Matt Ryan the last few weeks. If you are looking for a young quarterback on the brink of solidifying a starting role for next season, here is your guy. And if you are looking for a guy with the potential to lead your team to an improbable Championship even in a re-draft format, the kind of guy with the potential of making the Manning owner rip his hair out in week 16 exclaiming, “I can’t believe I just got my ass kicked by Tyler freaking Thigpen” I think we might have one here.

Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore.

Mark Bradley: Like I said, I already got Bradley last week. So if you are in a league with smart people like me, Bradley may not be available. But if he is still out there you have to take a flyer on this guy now. Three straight good weeks in a row? Bradley never even stayed healthy for three games in a row in Chicago. He is on one hell of a streak. If he can stay healthy, and Thigpen turns out to be the real deal, we may have something here. Great re-draft player here as well.

I talked last week about my WCOFF team, here is the update. It was Earnest Graham’s and Witten’s bye week. My replacements Chester Taylor and Bo Scaife had their best weeks of the season. Somebody up there loves me.

Final waivers were this week. Luckily I had saved two measly bidding dollars, while the only other guy still in contention was flat broke. I exchanged Arrington for Tatum Bell. That is one desperate roster move. But my only alternative was to back up the suddenly creaky Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn with Cadillac Williams. No. I can’t go there. I refuse to let myself believe that Caddy will have anything. The guy was borderline before his injury. How is he supposed to be better now? Or even as good?

Tatum Bell. It is amazing how many times I have taken that bait. What the hell is wrong with me anyway? That dead roster spot will probably stay dead. I have absolutely no expectations. If he ends up being worth a damn I will be more surprised than anybody.

Scraps are hard to come by near the end of a long season in a deep league. Tatum freaking Bell. Wow.

But you just never know.

I also jettisoned the little used Chansi Stuckey in favor of Jason Hill. Hill is just a dart throw in a re-draft format, I figure he has way more potential than Stuckey.

Of course, now that I have released Stuckey (well after he stopped being worth having around) I am sure we will see a season ending injury to Cotch or Coles this week, and Stuckey will become the Jets 2nd half star receiver.

Nah. Probably not.

I wrote a blog back in August where I told you about a couple of my just completed drafts. I thought I had a couple of really good teams with a couple of really good strategies. Little did I know at the time just how good one of those teams would be.

Here is my starting lineup.

Matt Schaub
Earnest Graham
Chris Johnson
Larry Fitzgerald
Andre Johnson
Roddy White
Eddie Royal
Jason Witten
Longwell
Phil

Other than my kicker, that is the starting lineup I drafted.

I am currently the points leader in the WCOFF Super Satellite.

I guess if you play long enough, and keep your nose in it, sheer luck can actually reach up and bite you in the ass. I mean, I can’t diminish the fact that I targeted and drafted the right players. But it was luck to draft with people that didn’t have the guys I had targeted in their plans. And it takes luck to keep from having your team gutted with injuries. Injuries have been of little consequence so far for this team. Until the last two weeks.

First Witten. Then Schaub. Now Graham. It is like carving a beautiful ice sculpture, then watching someone take a couple of whacks at it with a hammer. It’s still pretty, but it ain’t perfect any more.

Unfortunately, while I built a great team, the depth is somewhat lacking. I never managed to snag great backups, and I am definitely vulnerable. I had Schaub backed up with Matt Ryan. I foolishly jettisoned Rosenfels a couple of weeks ago with the success of Ryan and Schaub, and the compulsion to add more depth at other positions. I have Witten backed up with Scaife. But Earnest Graham is backed up with Dunn. And Chester Taylor. And my new addition, the last second shot in the dark JJ Arrington. That is some thin ice right there.

But so it has been for the whole season. I purposely put the running backs on the back burner of my draft plans this year, hedged heavily on Chris Johnson, and refused to pay big bidding bucks for questionable running back depth (what few scraps are left on waivers in a deep league like this) and it has served me well so far. But as I noted in a pre-season column, it is imperative to have good RBs in the playoffs.

That being said, another part of my plan was to consider the playing conditions of the QBs and WRs that I selected for the month of December. If you look at the schedules for the teams I drafted my starters from, the winter storm risk is minimalized.

Other than Eddie Royal, the rest of my WR/QB lineup faces only 2 potential cold weather games during those critical weeks 14-16 when we normally see the top WRs drop off in points. So at most in the playoffs I will have one stud receiver a week (not every week) playing in potentially bad weather. And Witten has a week 14 game at Pittsburgh that is the only weather blemish on his schedule. That is, assuming the blemish on his ribs makes it relevant.

I haven’t locked up anything yet, though it would take a monumental collapse on my part to deny my advancement to the tournament style playoff round. I took the overall lead in this 144 team field about 4 weeks ago now, and have held it since. The guys that won it last year are right on my ass. Guys that have won in similar formats are in there. All the usual suspects. They are chasing me for a change.

And you thought I was just another pretty face…

Every year at this time, there are players plucked off the waiver wire that end up being fantasy relevant. I don’t have a good enough crystal ball to come up with any running backs for you, but here are some WR sleepers for that second half run. Many of these guys were drafted this year, or rostered at some point, but most are available on waivers this week in all but the deepest of leagues.

Sidney Rice: Has not played much at all due to injuries up to this point. If he can finally shake the bad luck, this guy showed last season that he has some potential. He is probably available even in many deep leagues and is definitely worth a shot.

Mike Walker: Here is another guy that has been unable to stay healthy. But he is allegedly close to returning now, and it coincides with the point in time that Matt Jones is likely to be suspended for a few games. Add that to the fact that Jerry Porter has been the bust most of us knew he would be and you have at least the potential for something to happen here.

Brandon Stokley: Stokley got knocked out a few weeks ago with yet another concussion and was promptly dropped by many (including me) before his bye week. Stokley isn’t going to lead you to any championships, and isn’t an every week starter, but it seems to me that a possession receiver on a team with a defense as horrible as the Broncos should be on a roster.

Mark Bradley: The Chiefs were desperate for another receiver, and Bradley was desperate for another chance. Last week it worked out pretty well for both parties. Bradley has never been able to stay healthy (notice the theme) so I would rate his chances fairly slim. But as for now he is the starting wide receiver on yet another AFC West team that seems to play from behind a lot.

Patrick Crayton: What? Yeah, with the arrival of Roy Williams Crayton was promptly dropped even in some deep leagues. Things look bad right now, with Romo injured, and the plethora of receivers available to him when he returns. But Crayton, as the 4th option on the Cowboys might be better than some #2 guys when it is all said and done. Roy Williams has never been a master at staying healthy himself. And the guy Williams lines up across from is getting up in years, and could melt down at any second. Meanwhile Witten has cracked ribs, we don’t know how that is going to play out. If you have a pretty good receiving corps already, and have a spot available I would definitely consider rostering this guy just in case. That advice would hold particularly true for Williams owners.

Aundrae Allison: And if Sidney Rice (or Berrian) keeps missing time with injuries, Allison’s chances for playing time continue to increase. This is the deepest of the deep sleepers here. But this guy does have talent, and he has shown a few flashes this season. Not a guy you need to rush out and get, but just keep an eye on that Vikings receiver situation. If injuries push him into a larger role, I think he could make some noise.

Okay, I’m going to eat it. I said Ryan Grant would be a good fantasy player this season, and he isn’t. I was wrong.

The holdout, the hamstring, the change at quarterback. I told you not to worry about any of it.

Little did I know the real danger was that the Packers would suddenly decide to refuse to throw passes to Grant, and in fact take him out on most passing downs in favor of Brandon Jackson. Almost without exception. That, and an inexplicable knack for NOT getting in the end zone has turned Grant into a fantasy team disaster.

That being said, about me being wrong and all, Grant does come off his best game of the season where he finally sniffed the end stripe. And the Packers seem to be coming around in general so I still have some hope for Grant. Unfortunately my dynasty team is already toast due to my dependance on Grant as a starter through most of his horror movie of a season. I have some teams that are kicking it this year. But Grant has not showed up for the party.

I am going to own up to the fact so far that I was dead wrong about Ryan Grant up to this point. The lack of touches in the passing game is what is most perplexing to me, and I’m not seeing any evidence that is going to change, so while I still think Grant will have a much better second half, he just won’t be a huge factor unless he starts getting those passes….and touchdowns.

Now, if you feel like hating on me for being wrong let ‘er rip. But keep in mind I am sitting on a 1-6 dynasty team that I convinced myself was going to take the league by storm. I depended on Grant to carry the load at RB for that team, and instead have found myself benching him for waiver wire pick-up Sammy Morris. Yes, I have suffered my sins.

But then, that is why we play more than one league. I also have a 6-1 redraft team that is destroying the league. A 5-2 keeper team, a 4-3 redraft, and a 3-4 redraft. I have five teams, with common players in many, yet I am all over the place in the standings.

My 6-1 team was drafted from the 12-hole (my personal favorite) and I chronicled that draft in an earlier blog. My first 6 picks were Fitzgerald, A. Johnson, Graham, Witten, R. White, and Chris Johnson. There is an old adage that you can’t win your league at the draft. But that is just about as close to a perfect draft as I have ever had…so far.

And the funny thing is, I got exactly the players I had targeted before my draft started. I had a “dream team” in mind and it fell right into place. I just love it when a plan comes together. But more importantly when it stays together.

And yes, a lot of it is luck. If you look at that core of players there is a common theme, other than ass-kicking numbers. Not much in the way of injuries. That is something that is rare these days as you well know. Luck. That dirty four letter word.

I did a lot of talking about waiting to draft your RB’s this season, in favor of stud WRs. That was a strategy I employed in most of my drafts, with mixed results as you can see. But as I predicted when I wrote about that draft, a crucial key was the performance of Chris Johnson. I drafted Johnson in hopes that he would be a viable #1 RB, and with a ranking of 11th in PPR leagues he is indeed serviceable RB1 quality.

The weekly Lendale White/Chris Johnson bludgeonings appear to have no end in sight. As it turns out, drafting either of those backs was a pretty wise move. The only concern I have of Chris Johnson now is that he might hit the “rookie wall.” I’m not so sure that applies like it used to for running backs. With this tandem sharing the duties, maybe Johnson will continue to do it all year. The Titans sure look the part of a true contender right now.

I am very interested in a couple of games this week. We are going to find some things out. And the Colts at Titans game is one that is going to tell us a lot. The Colts need this one. I mean, let’s get real. The Colts are not going to climb out of a 4 game hole. Not with 9 games left. The Colts would have to go 7-2 and the Titans 3-6. Yes, the Colts could go 7-2. That would get them to 10 wins. But it is hard for me to envision the Titans crashing and burning to the tune of 3-6.

The Colts need this one but I’m afraid they aren’t going to get it. Even after a good rest I just don’t think the Colts are going to be able to hang physically with the Titans. The Colts can’t stop the run. All the Titans do is run. Run the ball and run clock. And keep opposing quarterbacks on the sidelines. I can’t think of a better style of play to beat the Colts with than that. Monday night could signal a changing of the guard in the suddenly “ordinary” AFC.

Another game that I am very interested in is the Falcons at the Eagles. So far the Falcons have been a good little story, but I don’t really think they have convinced anybody they are capable of winning a road game like the one they have coming up at Philadelphia, despite the fact they did it just a few weeks ago at Green Bay. Yet they find themselves a 9 point underdog at Philly? Hmmm.

Matt Ryan has shown a great ability to read defenses, and he will no doubt face the wrath of a rested Eagles defense this Sunday. Still though, everybody thought the Packers would hand it to them at Green Bay and Chicago would hand it to them at home a couple of weeks ago. I’m trying to convince myself the Falcons aren’t for real, but not really getting it done.

If the Falcons pull this one off, it is a huge statement game for them and we will have no choice but to take them seriously.

I am also interested to see how Pierre Thomas and Aaron Stecker share Deuce’s leftovers in the absence of Reggie Bush. I drafted Pierre Thomas on most of my teams this year, and did not drop him even after it became clear that he was going back to special teams only. So we will see if that pans out for me. Look, I have told people that I think Deuce was done earlier this season. I did so in the Huddle forum where innocent by-standers ask for fantasy advice, only to be assaulted with my faulty reasoning. Ok, another admission of guilt. Wrong…so far.

So far Deuce has held up. He has not been spectacular by any means though, and hasn’t had a whole lot of carries. And I am still thoroughly unconvinced that the guy is going to be able to pull the cart for any sustainable length of time. I still think Thomas is going to be a factor for this team.

I picked up Josh Morgan in most of my leagues earlier this year. Got impatient and dropped him in all of them a couple of weeks ago. Brilliant.

Having bright ideas is great. Being patient enough to let them pan out is even better.