Week 11 Fantasy Football Predictions (Rivalry Week Edition)

It is finally here friends.  Rivalry week is upon us and our most beloved friends become our most hated adversaries.  The playoff picture is starting to present itself but there are still many teams vying for those finals slots.  Rob is the first to lock in his playoff ticket with his 8-2 record. There are many good teams looking up at him though including our points leader who is currently sitting seventh.  Without further ado, let us take a look back at last week’s projections and get into this week’s rivalry action…apparently brought to us by Tyson Anytizers.  Last week I got back to my roots with a real sub-par performance in the picks.  I took myself over Dan, Adam over Owen, Galen to top Wesley, Thomas to take down Kenneth, Douglas to beat Geoff, Rob to dismantle Stills, and Collin to surprise Vimel.  Well, that didn’t work out all that well for me.  Adam, Galen, and Rob were successful calls but the other four…not so much.  That 3-4 week brings the running tally to 37-26.  Eeking my way back to that middle of the road territory.  Let’s just move on to rivalry week, shall we?

In this, the second week of the NFL’s Thursday night football we find only two matchups in our league that slid by the day with scores untouched.  Let’s start with one of these fresh little babies…

Da Bears (5-5) vs. Brownies (4-6)
This rivalry matchup is classic and pits two fantasy owners that couldn’t be different against each other.  Few, if any, talk more trash than our loveably arrogant GDS while Thomas is one of the league’s quietest GMs on the message boards.  Is confidence in ones self enough to take down our points leader in rivalry week?  Brees has a gem of a matchup playing in Tampa, Manningham against Atlanta is also favorable, and Shiancoe should get his projected ten against the Seahawks.  Ochocinco faces Oakland where defensive secondary is the only bright spot, Forsett is in Minnesota and Garcon is banged up and in Baltimore…yikes.  You’ll notice I didn’t throw Gates into either category and that is because I feel like he is unique in that his matchup is tough against the Broncos but Champ Bailey will be on VJ most of the game which means Gates should be the primary target in that game so he will likely do quite well.  Thomas has his Vikings (Harvin, AP, Rice, and Benedict Arnold) playing Seattle, Colston will accompany Brees to Tampa and Crabtree is in Green Bay…You gotta like those matchups if you are Thomas and I gotta like Thomas in this one.

Root Marm (5-5) vs. Errant Dog (6-4)
These two GMs have a long history dating back to the Cedar Meadows days and have brought their rivalry to the streets of Long Beach in the present day.  Two of our most devout Niner faithful will not cheer for the same teams on this day as both of these teams needs this win desperately.  The Missbehavin Mutts’ tough draws are Addai in Baltimore and Coles against the Raider secondary.  Everyone else should do quite well, especially Gore against the Packers where good line play isn’t a readily used phrase.  Privers has a tough draw going to the mile high city and Cotch plays the Pats.  Jermichael Finley is an interesting play for Wes considering he is coming off injury and has never been considered our (the Packers) starting TE.  His ability for big plays is unquestioned though.  Cedric the Entertainer being out is a bit disappointing and I don‘t see Scott doing what CB would have…for this reason, I am going to take Adam in this matchup making it that much tougher for Wes to hold on to his playoff spot.

Team Pavlik (7-3) vs. Bulletproof Tiger (2-8)
This is a real rumble…or would be if it were circa 2002, we were in Millville, intoxicated, and there were only one bowl of home made mac and cheese left.  Does this battle of old friends and fellow kings fans meet the intensity of the aforementioned scenario?  In a word…no.  Flacco against Indy, Forte and Hester against Philly, and Carlson in Minnesota aren’t great matchups.  Ryan Moats just got demoted behind Steve Slaton again and I doubt Austin and Breaston have the ability to overcome those troubles.  Big Ben is in KC, Marshall plays a soft SD secondary, Sims-Walker hosts Buffalo, Sjax hosts Arizona, and Ricky Williams already went supernova on Carolina.  All that means Braylon and Olson having tough draws aren’t a big deal and Vimel will win this in a walk.  He will mostly likely celebrate by pounding 3-7 shots of 151 and then yelling at you to punch him in the face until you refuse so much that he gets fed up and starts wailing on his own face with closed palms.  That kind of intensity is hard to match, and Owen’s fantasy team just doesn’t have the stomach for it.

C-minus (4-6) vs. Late Bloomer (8-2)
This is where I would build up the match between Randy and Hank, the alter egos of Collin and Rob respectively.  That being said, I have been forced to side step that point due to this:  C-minus
November 18, 2:17 pm
This could be my KO from playoff chances. Every week from here on out is must win.
Late Bloomer
November 18, 7:41 pm
I wish I could help you out this week Collin...but I think it would look kinda obvious if I benched Manning and Clark. Also, Hank takes no prisoners...you can't control that guy.
Late Bloomer
November 20, 5:15 pm
I rescind my previous post...as it seems I have already clinched a playoff spot, I have decided to rest some of my key players. You know, don't want to risk injury. GL HF
Then Rob took out Peyton Manning, Dallas Clark, and Chris Johnson…This is an abomination and I’m over it.  I’m not even going to make a prediction because this angers me so much.

Totalitarian Utopia (3-7) vs. Out of first round (4-6)
Dan said it best witih, “This is the red headed step child of rivalry matchups.”  These two have known each other for a while now and while Stills’ brash ‘anything goes’ mentality has at times clashed with Doug’s wholesome innocence it is hardly enough to warrant a rivalry for many.  Nonetheless they meet here, in this battle for…uhhh…I guess they still have playoff hopes (Doug more so than Stills).  The mythical societies have great matchups save TJ in NE while Doug has Burleson in Minn as his toughest draw.  The draws seem pretty even and that makes me want to pick this based on roster, which means Stills is at a disadvantage.  I have to believe that Doug wins this game and keeps his slim chances alive for another week.

San Diego Booyans! (6-4) vs. Selena Y Los Dinos (6-4)
This very well could be the game of the week as both of these owners come in with the same record and fight for south side pride.  Their bad blood can be traced back to their days running around the tough south side streets of Redding and balling on the mean courts of Bonny View.  Which former Bobcat will make the other their prey?  My WRs continue to be an abomination and with Dwayne Bowe suspended for four games it certainly doesn’t help anything.  The SF defense won’t be easy on Rodgers and Baltimore will try to keep the Indy passing attack in check (Austin Collie included).  DW had a solid game on Thursday but was it enough for me to pull out the victory?  Ken’s draws are easily more favorable than mine with Keller in NE the lone toughy.  I think DW will out duel Moreno but with Holmes in KC, Fitz @STL, Schaub hosting Tennessee, and MJD in upstate New York I have this funny feeling like I am in real trouble.  Hopefully we get a miracle from someone, cause I am gonna need it.  Ken should win this first annual battle, though the rivalry will be far from over as south siders never know when to quit.

Purple People Eaters (3-7) vs. Life and Limb (7-3) *Game of the Week*
This was supposed to be a rivalry game between two of the league’s top teams as indicated from last year’s performances.  Dan has held up his end of the bargain while Galen has run into a string of bad luck all year.  This game makes or breaks Galen’s season (as will each game for the rest of the regular season).  VJ in Denver is Galen’s toughest draw as Champ Bailey will be with him most, if not all, of the night.  Everything else is peachy though, and I do mean peachy.  For Dan, Hassy and Housh are in Minnesota where they play football indoors.  Reggie Wayne plays the Ravens but will undoubtedly continue to do his thing.  Andre Johnson gets Tennessee and will have a good time with that.  These really are the most evenly matched rosters this week despite their records being inverted.  In the spirit of keeping his season alive, and because I really think he has a good shot at it, I am taking Galen in a squeaker.

There you have it.  This concludes our rivalry week edition of the predictions and I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s hard fought battles…except for Collin and Robbies’ which is an abomination of gamesmanship.  Is it possible for them both to lose?  Anyway, enjoy the games tomorrow and Monday everybody.  Squared Sevens visit the increasingly colder tundra of Lambeau Field this weekend, both teams fighting for their outside chances of making a wildcard bid.