Week 16: Houston vs. Indianapolis Matchup Predictions

I don’t think I’m really going out on a limb when I pick Houston to win here. And I don’t think I’m that crazy when I say that you are probably not in the finals if you have any of Indianapolis’s players are in your starting lineup.

So, really, besides being bored at work, there is little reason for me to be writing this post. But I do what I want.

Indy surprised us all last week, due largely in part to an 80 yard run set off by Curtis Painter accidentally blocking somebody. Literally. What the tape, he did not do that on purpose, he just got in the way. I don’t see it happening again, and, frankly, if I were a Colts fan, I wouldn’t want another win. They have the number one pick, and they should probably try holding on to it.

That doesn’t mean that players won’t be trying, I just really don’t think that anyone on this team is really good enough to start for fantasy unless you are crazy deep. Then only Pierre Garcon is really worth considering.

Houston has locked the playoffs. I’m sure that they would bench their starters, if they could… but T.J. Yates is the third stringer, so really, he needs the practice. Andre Johnson will not be the Andre Johnson that we all know and love until Schaub is back. Arian Foster deliver a hell of a pounding though. I’m also going to say that I do expect them to sit Johnson and Foster at some point to avoid injury before the playoffs. And, in the event that Arian Foster does sit, Ben Tate could actually have a productive night. That is a big if though.

Start them: Arian Foster, Pierre Garcon, Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, Neil Rackers, HOU DefenseIf you must: Ben Tate, Reggie WayneSit them: Curtis Painter, Joseph Addai, Backup HOU receivers, IND DefenseSleepers: T.J. Yates, Donald Brown, Jacob Tamme

Week 14 Fantasy Football Pick'em and Predictions

For the past few weeks I've been picking up the pace. Been basing my picks a lot on the Thursday night game actually. Seahawks beat the Eagles last week, I picked a handful of upsets and they paid off.

This Thursday, the Steelers barely escaped the Browns of all teams. This could point to another week of upsets if I'm going off the same strategy, but I'm not feeling very upsetty this week.

I'm normally scared when they look straightforward, but the only big gun I can see going down is the Patriots of all teams. Redskins passing game and emergence of Helu might be enough. And Brady and the Pats (mostly the secondary) only got past the un-undefeated Colts by seven.

Here's the picks.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(9-7)(115-77)	(12-4)(120-72)	(10-6)(103-89)
Browns vs. Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Browns
Falcons vs. Panthers	Falcons	Panthers	Falcons
Texans vs. Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Texans
Vikings vs. Lions	Lions	Lions	Vikings
Saints vs. Titans	Saints	Saints	Saints
Colts vs. Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Chiefs vs. Jets	Jets	Jets	Chiefs
Eagles vs. Dolphins	Eagles	Dolphins	Dolphins
Patriots vs. Redskins	Patriots	Redskins	Patriots
Bucs vs. Jaguars	Jaguars	Bucs	Jaguars
Bears vs. Broncos	Broncos	Broncos	Broncos
49ers vs. Cardinals	49ers	49ers	49ers
Bills vs. Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Raiders vs. Packers	Packers	Packers	Packers
Giants vs. Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Rams vs. Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Week 13 Pick'em and Predictions

Eagles looking like a hot mess vs. the Seahhawks on Thursday night makes me a little bit worried about the remainder of Week 13.

We've seen one relative upset where the favorite completely flopped on the road. And this week we see a lot of favorites hitting the road to face teams that have upset potential. At first glance, these games appear straightforward, but I would not be surprised to see some home team underdogs keep them close. I'm talking about Texans and Falcons, Vikings and Broncos, Dolphins and Raiders, Redskins and Jets, Cardinals and Cowboys, Jags and Chargers.

Could see some big surprises this week. That's all I'm saying.

My locks for the week are Patriots (obviously), Cowboys, Ravens and 49ers. If you're still alive, these teams are likely not available for you to choose from. So good luck with that. Broncos over Vikings and Chargers over Jags would be next in line.

Good luck to everyone. Enjoy Week 13!

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(10-6)(106-70)	(11-5)(108-68)	(8-8)(93-83)
Eagles vs. Seahawks	Eagles	Eagles	Seahawks
Falcons vs. Texans	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
Titans vs. Bills	Bills	Titans	Titans
Chiefs vs. Bears	Bears	Bears	Bears
Bengals vs. Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Broncos vs. Vikings	Broncos	Broncos	Vikings
Colts vs. Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
Raiders vs. Dolphins	Raiders	Dolphins	Dolphins
Jets vs. Redskins	Jets	Jets	Jets
Panthers vs. Bucs	Panthers	Panthers	Bucs
Ravens vs. Browns	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Cowboys vs. Cardinals	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Packers vs. Giants	Packers	Packers	Packers
Rams vs. 49ers	49ers	49ers	49ers
Lions vs. Saints	Lions	Saints	Lions
Chargers vs. Jaguars	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Week 12 Fantasy Football Pick'em and Predictions

Last week worked out pretty swimmingly. If only I had gone with my gut before that week. After 11-3, though, I'm rolling high and pretty confident after a 2-1 Thursday after stupidly gambling on the falling Lions over the unstoppable Packers.

Jordan and I are not eye-to-eye on a bunch of games this week. Turns out that a lot of these seem to be toss-ups. So good luck to everyone with their pick'em calls this week.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(10-4)(96-64)	(11-3)(97-63)	(9-5)(85-75)
Packers vs. Lions	Lions	Lions	Lions
Dolphins vs. Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
49ers vs. Ravens	49ers	Ravens	49ers
Vikings vs. Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
Bills vs. Jets	Bills	Jets
Browns vs. Bengals	Bengals	Bengals
Bucs vs. Titans	Bucs	Titans
Panthers vs. Colts	Panthers	Panthers
Cardinals vs. Rams	Rams	Rams
Texans vs. Jaguars	Texans	Texans
Bears vs. Raiders	Raiders	Raiders
Redskins vs. Seahawks	Seahawks	Seahawks
Broncos vs. Chargers	Broncos	Chargers
Patriots vs. Eagles	Patriots	Patriots
Steelers vs. Chiefs	Steelers	Steelers
Giants vs. Saints	Giants	Saints
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Fantasy Football: Analyzing the Thanksgiving Games

Hey everyone. Wanted to get my picks and a little analysis in on todays games.

To start things off, I want to get into the Thanksgiving spirit by thanking all of you. You guys are the people that keep me and this site going.

Every day, I get up to see all of your comments and questions in the comment, and go on Twitter and see all of the follows and feedback that I have gotten from you, and I just want to extend to you a thanks and show you how grateful I really am.

While I may not remember all of your lineups, I do remember all of your names and look for them in the  comments. I don't personally know any of you, but I hope you feel more of a connection with GHL than you would with any other site. Personalized advice is the main reason that I started this advice, and I feel that you have all made that happen and made GHL a success.

This is something that I love to do and really aspire to do on a professional level some day. And you are all helping make that happen.

Some of you challenge me to the extremes. Asking great, thought-provoking questions. Analyzing my picks and rankings and strategies. Giving me criticism and feedback to make GHL the best site that it can be.

All of the positive feedback that you all give is mindblowing. The thank yous that you extend to me. The words that you put in all of your questions. They are great. So thank you. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Now let's get to football!

Andrew Picks: Lions, Cowboys, Ravens
Jordan Picks: Lions, Cowboys, 49ers
MGLS Picks: Lions, Cowboys, 49ers

Thursday is going to be a huge fantasy impact day. Lots of big names taking the field and a lot of Week 12 outcomes will be decided in just the three matchups. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of the Lions vs. Packers, Cowboys vs Dolphins, and Ravens vs. 49ers.

Week 10 NFL Pick'em and Predictions

I knew this week would come. Eventually, there is always one week when all your picks seem to be the exact opposite of everyone else. Well, this is that week.

Jordan and I disagree on eight of the 16 games this week, and honestly they could really all be close.

If the Thursday night game was any indication, we are in for yet another screwy week in the NFL. In a week full or rivalries, I think it is only fitting that Jordan and I disagree so many times.

If anyone out there is still in a survival league, first of all, congrats. I'd be right with you if the damn Giants didn't lose to the Seahawks. Awful. My locks for this week are actually hardly locks at all. Some tough games. Eagles win handily against the Cardinals. Ravens over Seahawks. Packers over Minnesota. Thats about it. If you've used all these teams, good luck to you. Gonna be some nailbiters.

So check out who we like. If you've got an upset in store, let me hear about it. And, in the eight games that we can't agree on, I'm counting on you all to be the tie breakers. Let me hear which teams you predict will win in the comments.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(7-7)(79-51)	(9-5)(78-52)	(7-7)(68-62)
Raiders @ Charger	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Saints @ Falcons	Saints	Falcons	Falcons
Bills @ Cowboys	Bills	Cowboys	Cowboys
Steelers @ Bengals	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Rams @ Browns	Browns	Rams	Browns
Broncos @ Chiefs	Broncos	Chiefs	Chiefs
Titans @ Panthers	Panthers	Titans	Panthers
Jaguars @ Colts	Jaguars	Jaguars	Jaguars
Redskins @ Dolphins	Redskins	Dolphins	Dolphins
Cardinals @ Eagles	Eagles	Eagles	Cardinals
Texans @ Bucs	Texans	Texans	Texans
Ravens @ Seahawks	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Lions @ Bears	Lions	Lions	Lions
Giants @ 49ers	Giants	49ers	49ers
Patriots @ Jets	Patriots	Jets	Patriots
Vikings @ Packers	Packers	Packers	Vikings
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Week 9 Fantasy Football Pick'em Predictions

Alright, so Jordan is up on me by three. Last week we had all the same picks and managed to go 9-4. This week, I'm shaking things up a little bit.

There have been a lot of upsets every week, so, being down by three, I'm taking the gamble and picking a few teams that I think could sneak up. Hell, last week in my Pick'em post I correctly predicted the Vikings and Chiefs to win the game (though I didn't put them in the table, because I'm an idiot sometimes.

Upsets I've got in store this week:
Jets over Bills- Hard to believe that this one is even really an upset, but the Bills are favored here. Jets are improving ever so slightly and I think they can figure out the Bills in this one.
Rams over Cardinals- Cards are hurting a bit. Rams should have Bradford back and I'm excited to see what he can do with Brandon Lloyd and a re-invigorated Steven Jackson.

Games I struggled with:
Broncos and Raiders- Just a gut issue here that the Raiders offense will not be anywhere near good enough, leaving this a low scoring game that the Broncos can edge out.
Steelers and Ravens- Steelers are without a doubt the better of the teams right now... but the Ravens punished them in Week 1.

If you've got an upset in store, let me hear about it.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(9-4)(72-44)	(9-4)(69-47)	(8-5)(61-55)
Falcons @ Colts	Falcons	Falcons
Jets @ Bills	Bills	Jets
Browns @ Texans	Texans	Texans
Seahawks @ Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Dolphins @ Chiefs	Chiefs	Chiefs
Bucs @ Saints	Saints	Saints
49ers @ Redskins	49ers	49ers
Bengals @ Titans	Titans	Bengals
Broncos @ Raiders	Raiders	Raiders
Packers @ Chargers	Packers	Packers
Rams @ Cardinals	Cardinals	Rams
Giants @ Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
Ravens @ Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Bears @ Eagles	Eagles	Eagles
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Fantasy Football Week 9 Waiver Pick Ups

Half way through the season and I'm actually rather excited to say that we made it though a whole week with hardly any injuries! Woo!

Some moves have been made however and we all know that every week brings new talent. Lets take a look at some of the best waiver wire pickups going into Week 9.

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, Cleveland Browns

Peyton Hillis is still dealing with a hamstring injury and his backup Hardesty left the game Sunday after just two carries. I would not be shocked to see Ogbonnaya get the start and majority of carries this week as the Browns go up against the team that cut Ogbonnaya earlier this year, the Houston Texans.

The Texans are giving up less than 100 on the ground per week, but that number has gone up with Houston defensive injuries. The Browns have been having little success in any form of offense this year, but you have to believe that Ogbonnaya will be wanted to get back at his former team.

I don't expect huge stats out of him, but if you have bye week problems or have been playing a subpar player in past weeks, Ogbonnaya might be worth the pickup. He is my favorite waiver wire pickup this week.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Oakland Raiders

Alright, we know that Carson Palmer had a bad first impression against the Chiefs in his first week in a Raiders jersey, but hear me out. Palmer had been in the offense for less than a week, he was up against a tough defense, and he was cold after not playing for nearly a year.

I'm not saying that Palmer is going to break out any time soon, but we can expect for him to get the ball in the air a little better coming off his bye week as he has had time to study the offense and throw to his receivers. Oakland will be playing at home against Denver, a team that has been giving up some big plays this season.

Heyward-Bey is leading the team with 27 receptions, 13 more than their second best receiver. He is their big play threat and gets the targets each week. He is already owned in over half the leagues, but if he has been riding your bench or is still on the wire, you might want to snatch him up. This game has some big play potential if you are hurting for it.

Sam Bradford, QB, St. Louis Rams

Bradford is also owned in over half of all fantasy football leagues, but at a pretty surprisingly low percentage of 53. Now is the time to snatch him up.

After Steven Jackson's Week 8 performance, opposing defenses know that they need to watch this run game. This will open up the pass more for Bradford. The Rams have also been bitten by the injury bug, which hurt Bradford early in the season. Expect that to change.

Bradford is coming off injury and able to play with one of the top WRs of 2010 in Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd is by far the best receiver that Bradford has even thrown to in the NFL and should open up a lot of options for last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

I expect Bradford to be a climber from here to the end of the season. Bradford will be against Arizona in Week 9, the third worst passing defense in the league.

Brent Celek, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

I'll bite on his performance in Week 8. It has a lot to do with the defensive coverage from the Cowboys, but Celek made the most of it, pulling in 7 receptions for 94 yards and a score.

This is Celek's first trip to the top of the TE heap, but it could hangover in to Week 9 when the Eagles stay at home to face the Bears on Monday night. Chicago is giving up the most points in the league to tight ends.

If the Bears provide the same pressure to the outside of the field like the Cowboys did, expect another big night for Celek. He doesn't have year-long potential, but he is a good bet in Week 9.

Oakland Raiders Defense

A handful of delicately owned Defenses are facing good matchups this week. My favorite would have to be the Oakland Raiders (13% owned). The Raiders will be playing at home against the Denver Broncos who gave up 28 (depending on the league you're in) points to the Detroit Lions defense last week.

While Tim Tebow might be putting up decent numbers in fantasy football, he is embarrassing when it comes to actually playing NFL games. His yardage comes when the team is already down in the fourth quarter. He has been sacked a staggering 14 times in just two weeks. He is failing at getting the ball down the field. The entire Denver offense is in trouble and owning the Raiders this week will allow you to capitalize.

Other Defenses that I like in Week 9: Cardinals, Bills, Chiefs and Rams.

Week 8: Pick'em Predictions

A pretty damn straightforward week here.

Looking at pick'em sites you will see that 9 of the 13 games are picked by 90% of the voters. So lots of pretty easy  guarantees this week. Titans, Saints, Giants, Panthers, Ravens, Texans, Bills, Lions, 49ers.

Some upsets are possible here. Part of me is looking at the Vikings to make a run at the Panthers on the legs of Peterson. And I've got a funny feeling that the Chargers/Chiefs game could be a lot closer than San Diego fans want it to be.

I've only got one upset picked here and that is the Steelers over the Patriots. Definitely a high score possible here, but I think Big Ben will get it done through the air. Potential big game for all Steelers receivers here.

If you've got an upset in store, let me hear about it.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(8-5)(63-40)	(8-5)(60-43)	(7-6)(53-50)
Colts @ Titans	Titans	Titans	Titans
Saints @ Rams	Saints	Saints	Rams
Dolphins @ Giants	Giants	Giants	Giants
Vikings @ Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Panthers
Cardinals @ Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens
Jaguars @ Texans	Texans	Texans	Texans
Redskins @ Bills	Bills	Bills	Bills
Lions @ Broncos	Lions	Lions	Broncos
Bengals @ Seahawks	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals
Browns @ 49ers	49ers	49ers	49ers
Patriots @ Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Patriots
Cowboys @ Eagles	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Chargers @ Chiefs	Chargers	Chargers	Chargers
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

Trades, Injuries and Changes Shake Up Fantasy Football Rosters **updated

**updated: Detroit Lions acquire running back Ronnie Brown

For the past five weeks it seems that we have had to shake up our fantasy football rosters and rankings based on the weekly injuries constantly hitting NFL teams. Well, we seem to be alleviated from that this week, but faced with a delightful set of new problems. Rather than a host of unwanted injuries, we now get to modify our rosters based on a delightful combination of injuries, trades and replacements.

Let’s start from West to East.

Week 6 Running Back and Wide Receiver Sleepers

This has been a prime year for sleeper candidates. It seems that every week a new name emerges and has the waiver wire buzzing.

This is largely in part due to the big names that are going down nearly every week with injuries. So if you are in that boat, fear not.

If you lost a key player like Jamaal Charles early in the year. Or suffered in the beginning with setbacks from Frank Gore, Arian Foster, Miles Austin and a slew of other receivers. Or were dealt a blow recently with the injuries to Andre Johnson, Joseph Addai and LeGarrette Blount.

Now is the time to curse a little bit, settle down and start shopping for the fantasy football hit, that is sure to pop up in Week 6.

Follow along for the list of running backs and wide receivers that I like to perform higher than expected this week. Who knows, one might be available in your league.

NFL Week 6 Pick'em Predictions

Giants lost to the Seahawks. Awful. So, like roughly 80% of all those who started, I am now out of Survival Football. Who'd have thought. Oh well. Once again, it goes to show you how insane this year has been so far.

Last week was not out best outing. My Girlfriend's Little Sister Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Mo'ed her way into a better weekend record than Jordan and I. I predict a Week 6 breakthrough though as we are starting to get a better handle on these teams.

I think the Panthers finally pull together a win against another underwhelming favorite, the Atlanta Falcons. Redskins win at home in their rivalry with the Dream Team. The Browns burst the Raiders' bubble. And the Cowboys rebound against the Patriots on the wings of Rob Ryan.

If I were still in it and had to make a Survival pick, I'd say that I'm most confident in the Steelers over the Jags, Jets over the Dolphins and Saints over the Bucs.

Excited to hear about your upset picks. I suggest that everyone who reads this scrolls down to the eminent Allan B comment, as the man is an upset savant.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(7-6)(45-32)	(7-6)(45-32)	(8-5)(40-37)
Panthers @ Falcons	Falcons	Panthers	Panthers
Bills @ Giants	Bills	Bills	Bills
Colts @ Bengals	Bengals	Bengals	Colts
49ers @ Lions	Lions	Lions	Lions
Rams @ Packers	Packers	Packers	Packers
Eagles @ Redskins	Eagles	Redskins	Redskins
Jaguars @ Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Browns @ Raiders	Raiders	Browns	Browns
Texans @ Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	Texans
Cowboys @ Patriots	Patriots	Cowboys	Patriots
Saints @ Bucs	Saints	Saints	Bucs
Vikings @ Bears	Bears	Bears	Vikings
Dolphins @ Jets	Jets	Jets	Jets
Survival Pick	Eliminated	Eliminated	Eliminated

How to Fill the Fantasy Football Void Left by Andre Johnson

I've been asked a few times who I think will pick up the slack while Texans star Andre Johnson is out.

We all know that Johnson owners are hurting and there is no word coming on how long AJ will be out. So, from a fantasy football perspective, where does this leave owners who suffered from this loss? Or for that matter, how can any fantasy football owner who is struggling at the wide receiver position capitalize on this?

Let's take a fantasy football look at how the Texans skill players will pan out in Johnson's absence.

2011 Fantasy Football Week 5 Rankings

We're already into Week 5 of the NFL season, and onto another weekly position ranking. And, as has been a theme this year, we are seeing a lot of sleepers and backups cracking starters lists due to injuries.

Here are some highlights from the list below:

1) With games like Carolina/New Orleans, Detroit/Chicago, Green Bay/Atlanta, San Diego/Denver, New York Jets/New England, I think we can expect to see a ton of shootouts for a huge scoring weekend. Expect a lot of big numbers out of quarterbacks and receivers.

2) Arian Foster returns to his rightful spot in the top three running backs. I like him best this week as the Andre Johnson-less Texans hosts the Raiders.

3) Continuing on the Houston theme. It's hard to call which Houston receiver will be getting most of the work. For my money though, I think tight end Owen Daniels is the guy to watch.

4) I like at least one Jets running back to have a big week with New England hurting up front and at linebacker. Whether it is Shonn Greene or LT, I'm not so sure. I'd love to see Tomlinson get most of the snaps though.

5) Patriots' RB Ridley looked nice, but I still have BJGE higher, as does the New England depth chart. The safe bet is to play Welker as he is a monster this year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Revis moving inside to cover him. This could open up some sleeper potential for Deion Branch and other NE wideouts. Gronkowski should have no problems.

Working on another post going in to some sleepers and predictions, so stay tuned for that.

As always, if you've got any questions or comments (or if I left someone obvious out) post it all in the comments.

NFL Week 3 Pick'em Predictions and Survival Football

Picked up in Week 2. We're rocking it now.

Jordan and I are still rocking in Survival using out play the good ones first strategy. Still standing in week three. Unlike nearly 40% of the people who started playing.

Below are the picks for Jordan and Andrew. My Girlfriend's Little Sister's will be up shortly. She's still in school right now though. 

Let's get it to it.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record (LW) (Total):	(12-4)(20-12)	(10-6)(18-14)	(9-7)(16-16)
Patriots @ Bills	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
49ers @ Bengals	Bengals	49ers	Bengals
Dolphins @ Browns	Browns	Browns	Browns
Broncos @ Titans	Titans	Titans	Broncos
Lions @ Vikings	Lions	Lions	Lions
Texans @ Saints	Texans	Saints	Texans
Giants @ Eagles	Eagles	Eagles	Giants
Jaguars @ Panthers	Panthers	Panthers	Panthers
Chiefs @ Chargers	Chargers	Chargers	Chiefs
Jets @ Raiders	Jets	Jets	Jets
Ravens @ Rams	Ravens	Ravens	Rams
Falcons @ Bucs	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
Packers @ Bears	Packers	Packers	Packers
Cardinals @ Seahawks	Cardinals	Cardinals	Seahawks
Steelers @ Colts	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Redskins @ Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Survival Pick	Cardinals	Steelers	Patriots

2011 Week 3 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Alright guys,

It's my last day out of town, so you can expect the Advice time a little bit late this week, probably Friday night or Saturday. Pick'em predictions and Survival will also be up around that time.

Sorry for any inconvenience this week. Let's get to the rankings.

Week 3 Quarterback Rankings

1.     Tom Brady

2.     Philip Rivers

3.     Matthew Stafford

4.     Aaron Rodgers

5.     Michael Vick

6.     Drew Brees

7.     Ryan Fitzpatrick

8.     Matt Schaub

9.     Ben Roethlisberger

10. Tony Romo

11. Cam Newton

12. Matt Ryan

13. Kevin Kolb

14. Jay Cutler

15. Josh Freeman

16. Joe Flacco

17. Rex Grossman

18. Sam Bradford

19. Eli Manning

20. Colt McCoy

21. Blaine Gabbert

22. Jason Campbell

23. Matt Hasselbeck

24. Chad Henne

25. Mark Sanchez

Week 3 Running Back Rankings

1.     Adrian Peterson

2.     Rashard Mendenhall

3.     Ray Rice

4.     Michael Turner

5.     Maurice Jones-Drew

6.     LeSean McCoy

7.     Matt Forte

8.     Chris Jonson

9.     Darren McFadden

10. Frank Gore

11. Beanie Wells

12. Ben Tate

13. Fred Jackson

14. LeGarrette Blount

15. Peyton Hillis

16. Jahvid Best

17. Ryan Mathews

18. James Starks

19. Mike Tolbert

20. BenJarvus Green-Ellis

21. Ahmad Bradshaw

22. Steven Jackson

23. Felix Jones

24. Cedric Benson

25. Tim Hightower

26. Willis McGahee

27. Mark Ingram

28. DeAngelo Williams

29. Shonn Greene

30. Dexter McCluster

31. Daniel Thomas

32. Brandon Jacobs

33. Pierre Thomas

34. Joseph Addai

35. Darren Sproles

36. Ryan Grant

37. Roy Helu

38. Danny Woodhead

39. Marshawn Lynch

40. Reggie Bush

41. Thomas Jones

42. LaDainian Tomlinson

43. Jonathan Stewart

44. C.J. Spiller

45. Knowshon Moreno

46. DeMarco Murray

47. Montario Hardesty

48. Delone Carter

49. Cadillac Williams

50. Montario Hardesty

Week 3 Wide Receiver Rankings

1.     Larry Fitzgerald

2.     Andre Johnson

3.     Calvin Johnson

4.     Vincent Jackson

5.     Greg Jennings

6.     Roddy White

7.     Mike Wallace

8.     Dez Bryant

9.     Kenny Britt

10. DeSean Jackson

11. Steve Smith

12. Brandon Marshall

13. Santana Moss

14. Wes Welker

15. Steve Johnson

16. Hakeem Nicks

17. Santonio Holmes

18. Jeremy Maclin

19. Anquan Boldin

20. Reggie Wayne

21. Mike Williams

22. Percy Harvin

23. A.J. Green

24. Deion Branch

25. Brandon Lloyd

26. Dwayne Bowe

27. Jordy Nelson

28. Mike Thomas

29. Devery Henderson

30. Robert Meachem

31. Nate Burleson

32. Plaxico Burress

33. Mario Manningham

34. Eric Decker

35. Julio Jones

36. Johnny Knox

37. Malcom Floyd

38. David Nelson

39. Mike Sims-Walker

40. Lance Moore

41. Chad Ochocinco

42. Mohamed Massaquoi

43. Dexter McCluster

44. Nate Washington

45. Jabar Gaffney

46. Kevin Ogletree

47. Mike Williams (SEA)

48. Denarius Moore

49. Davone Bess

50. Danario Alexander

Week 3 Tight End Rankings

1.     Jason Witten

2.     Antonio Gates

3.     Jermichael Finley

4.     Rob Gronkowski

5.     Jemmy Graham

6.     Vernon Davis

7.     Dustin Keller

8.     Owen Daniels

9.     Tony Gonzalez

10. Fred Davis

11. Dallas Clark

12. Scott Chandler

13. Evan Moore

14. Greg Olsen

15. Tony Scheffler

16. Marcedes Lewis

17. Ed Dickson

18. Jermaine Gresham

19. Jared Cook

20. Jeremy Shockey

Week 3 Kicker Rankings

1.     Neil Rackers

2.     John Kasay

3.     Mason Crosby

4.     Stephen Gostkowski

5.     Alex Henery

6.     Josh Brown

7.     Billy Cundiff

8.     Rian Lindell

9.     Nick Folk

10. Sebastian Janikowski

11. Jason Hanson

12. Robbie Gould

13. David Akers

14. Jay Feely

15. Matt Bryant

16. Rob Bironas

17. Shaun Suisham

18. Dan Bailey

19. Dan Carpenter

20. Olindo Mare

Week 3 Defense Rankings

1.     Pittsburgh Steelers

2.     San Diego Chargers

3.     New York Jets

4.     Detroit Lions

5.     Philadelphia Eagles

6.     Baltimore Ravens

7.     Arizona Cardinals

8.     Green Bay Packers

9.     Tennesee Titans

10. New Orleans Saints

11. Chicago Bears

12. Atlanta Falcons

13. San Francisco 49ers

14. Carolina Panthers

15. Cincinnati Bengals

16. Oakland Raiders

17. Dallas Cowboys

18. Cleveland Browns

19. Washington Redskins

20. St. Louis Rams

NFL Week 2 Pick'em Predictions and Surival Football

Alright. I will admit. It was a less than stellar Week 1. But we have all the kinks worked out. Guaranteed.

I also want to points out the Survival Picks. Hopefully you read the article and went with a guarantee like Jordan and I did and made it into Week 2. According to the Survival League on ESPN, 19.5% of voters went for the Browns and 15.6% went for the Chiefs. With those two picks, over one third of the Survival players are already out. I will allow you to clap.

Onto a bit of analysis for this week's picks. Jordan and I are pretty similar. We took different stands on a couple of the toss up games, so I'm excited to check those out. My Girlfriend's Little Sister seems to have gone with the which mascot do I think is coolest strategy, and wound up bandwagoning with mostly underdogs this week. So, technically, you heard it here first.

Let's get it to it.

	Jordan	Andrew	MGLS
Record:	(8-8)	(8-8)	(7-9)
Seahawks @ Steelers	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Raiders @ Bills	Bills	Bills	Bills
Cardinals @ Redskins	Redskins	Redskins	Cardinals
Bucs @ Vikings	Bucs	Bucs	Vikings
Jaguars @ Jets	Jets	Jets	Jaguars
Bears @ Saints	Saints	Saints	Bears
Packers @ Panthers	Packers	Packers	Panthers
Ravens @ Titans	Ravens	Ravens	Titans
Chiefs @ Lions	Lions	Lions	Chiefs
Browns @ Colts	Browns	Colts	Browns
Cowboys @ 49ers	Cowboys	Cowboys	Cowboys
Bengals @ Broncos	Bengals	Broncos	Broncos
Chargers @ Patriots	Patriots	Chargers	Patriots
Texans @ Dolphins	Texans	Texans	Dolphins
Eagles @ Falcons	Eagles	Eagles	Falcons
Rams @ Giants	Rams	Rams	Giants
Survival Pick	Steelers	Packers	Panthers

2011 NFL Week 2 Start'em Sit'em

I’m a firm believer in starting your elite players every week. A lot of people questioned Miles Austin in Week 1, but as most elite players do, Austin found a way to put up good numbers for your fantasy football team. But injuries (Steven Jackson, Danny Amendola, Hakeem Nicks, etc), and obvious poor performances (Knowshon Moreno, Chad Ochocinco) call for some creative roster adjustments.

Here are a few sleepers that will help boost your team out of any Week 1 rut that you experienced. And a list of players that you might want to consider ‘resting’ in Week 2.

2011 Week 2 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

It is time again for the Weekly Position Rankings. We are going to be predicting the top performers at each position for Week 2 of the NFL. We are dealing with a lot more injuries than we were in week one. Lots of guys listed as questionable, so keep an eye on them. (Hakeem Nicks, Arian Foster, Dez Bryant, etc.) Make those adjustments when necessary

As always, if I left someone off that you think should be on there, please let me know. I will be posting an advice time article tomorrow, but feel free to start posting you line-up questions here.

Away we go!

Survival League Strategy: Winning These Fantasy Football Pools

Survival football is a style of fantasy (or gambling, if you will) similar to pick’em. It’s a simple premise: You pick the winner of one game per week. The catch is that once you select a team, you cannot select them for the rest of the season.* If you choose incorrectly, you are eliminated. At the end of the year, the person in the pool who made it the furthest into the season wins.

*In some survival leagues, if your team wins, you are allowed to play them the next week as well. But for this site, we are going to stick to the first set of rules

My first few years playing this, I had no strategy at all. “How hard could this be?” I foolishly asked myself. Pretty damn hard is the answer. Anyone else get eliminated last year during Week 1 because you picked the Chargers? That’s right, about half of you.

There seem to be two strategies that are used in Survival Leagues:

1)      Save the easy picks for later. A majority of the people in your pool are probably going to save the simple guys the middle of the season (assuming they make it that far). Their strategy is to not vote for the Eagles, Patriots, Packers, Saints, Steelers, etc. in the beginning of the season, thinking that if they make it out of the first 4-5 weeks, then they can coast to the finish line on their sure-things.

2)      Pick the best. Each week. No matter what. This strategy is simple. Look at the teams, and find which one appears the most obvious. If you gamble in Week 1, you have less of a chance of making it out of Week 1. If you so with a sure-thing, then you have a better chance to progress further.

I am against the first strategy. It makes little sense to me, personally. The entire point of the game is to make it to the next week. So, if you don’t make the smart pick in Week 1, the chances of you getting past that week are greatly decreased. I would much rather pick the Patriots beating the Dolphins in Week 1, then going out on a limb and picking, say, the 49ers over the Seahawks.

This game is all about endurance. If every member of your pool goes with the first strategy, they will drop like flies before even seeing Week 5. Meaning that if you employ the second strategy and play it safe in the early rounds, you win.

So go with the obvious ones early. Stay in as long as you can. When there are fewer competitors in the pool, then you can start taking your gambles. It’s a lot easier to gamble on a team in the middle weeks when you have been able to watch them all season and can predict the outcomes more easily.

Now, how do you go about picking a sure-thing? There are a couple factors here. First is pretty basic, you look at their record. This is where you are going to find the teams that do well every year. By seeing who they play well against and how often they win games, you can be pretty confident when they go up against a ‘less than perfect’ team.

Second is home-field advantage. It definitely matters. The Kansas City Chiefs are by no means one of the obvious teams to pick, but their record in 2010 was 7-1 at home. I’d be much more confident picking them in a home game in the middle of the year, knowing that they perform better there, than picking them at the beginning of the year so I could save the bigger names for later down the road.

Number three, look at the loser. It’s an awkward fact, but I feel that it is way easier to pick which team will definitely lose the game than it is to pick the team that will definitely win. I’m sure there is a psychological term for it or something. But think about it, there seem to be fewer loopholes and it is a lot easier to be confident saying the Redskins will definitely lose to the Giants, than saying the Giants will definitely beat the Redskins. So make a point to analyze the other team, if you can confidently say that they are going to lose, then pull the trigger.

Hope this strategy clears some things up for all of those playing in Survival Leagues. If you are not already signed up for one, they are a fun little game that will take about two minutes of your life, so go on your favorite fantasy football host and sign up!

And of course, you can expect to hear from GHL. When we post our Pick’em predictions, we will also add our guarantee of the week that we’ll be using in our own Survival Pool Picks.