5 NFL Questions - Divisional Round Saturday

5 Questions for EACH game. Lucky you, right?

Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans [4:30 pm, CBS]

If Albert Haynesworth is the BEAST of this defense, it only makes its leader (above) that much more lethal.

Credit: Yahoo! Sports

1) What type of impact will the Raven wideouts (Mason & Clayton) have against the suddenly-vaunted duo of Finnegan & Harper?
2) How will the Titans handle the impact of missing All Pro C Kevin Mawae; specifically, with Ravens monster DT Haloti Ngata?
3) Which duo will see more carries today: McClain/McGahee or White/Johnson?
4) Which team will be able to convert redzone possessions into TDs rather than FG attempts?
5) Over/under for Ed Reed INTs is 2. Over/under for Ed Reed pick-sixes is 1. Your calls?

Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers [8:15 pm, FOX]

If you don't know who Jon Beason is yet...be prepared to after Saturday night.
Credit: MM.news-record

1) Can Anquan Boldin again defy the doctor's expectations and be a factor - or suit up at all - Saturday night?
2) Does Arizona stand any reasonable chance of stopping the duo of DeAngelo Williams and "The Daily Show"?
3) Who's the better deepball, downfield threat in this game: Larry Fitzgerald or Steve Smith?
4) Will Jake Delhomme take care of the ball like a playoff quarterback must?
5) Will Julius Peppers reign havoc on a statue-esque Kurt Warner?

Enjoy the games. Feel free to comment with some of your own questions, answers to mine, or score predictions.

Our Thoughts: Does Plax's Suspension Shift the Balance of Power in the NFC East?

Sum: No, it doesn't. As I discussed in my Pre-Season Faux-Cast, Eli can do just fine without "talent" at the wide-receiver position, plus the Giants have lots of depth there. In the second preseason game (Cleveland), Eli completed 4 of 7 pass attempts, and none of the recipients were named Plaxico, Amani or Steve Smith. In fact, in that game, none of those three "starters" even caught a pass, and that was one of the two all-important weeks of the pre-season. So, I think the Giants will be fine for the ONE game they're Plax-less. Sure, Plax and Eli have the "connection" down pat, but Eli is a team leader now, and he can lead his team without Burress. Now, if this were last season prior to Shockey's injury, or anytime before, my answer would be much different. The balance of power in the NFC East still has Cowboys-Eagles-Giants at the top with the Redskins a semi-distant second. At least for now.

Armin: Not so much, in my opinion. Dallas is the team to beat in the NFC (B)East. Washington is going to finish last. The battle will be between the Eagles and Giants. However, before Plaxico was suspended, it was not too hard...not TOO hard...for me to say that Philly was playing like the better team. We also saw Steve Smith step it up a little lately, and he looks like he could be a weapon. Toomer is usually "Old Faithful" on 3rd downs. If Eli can create an even better connection with Kevin Boss, the Giants should be ok. I guess the big question is: Will Plax become a problem?

Clement: Determining the 'Balance of Power' in the NFC East won't occur until a few more weeks. Anything before that is speculation supported with speculation. The real key in the coming weeks is which NFC East team can win a game on the road (memo to Zorn and the Skins). It's fun to call Dallas "October's Team", but everybody for years had the same issues (and made excuses) for Peyton and the Colts. It's Romo's third season and the team's defense is still gelling with new additions all over the field (Thomas, Jones, Jenkins, etc.) In reality, New York suspended Burress for far more than missing a practice during a bye week. He just earned a FAT contract and isn't representing the team well with recent reports of potentially missing several meetings and possible potential domestic disturbance issues. Washington isn't allocated for last place, not yet. Every team still needs to answer several questions before we can analyze who is who. Dallas seems at the top right now; however, the Giants are an incredible road team and that isn't something I'm willing to pass up. Eli will have a lot of work to do without Plax for a week, obviously. What I'm really interested in is how the Giants balance their platoon of 3 backs. It doesn't take a fantasy owner to realize that Brandon Jacobs needs more than 12-15 carries a game to impose his size, strength, and will on an opposing defense.

Paymon: In a word, YES, it most certainly does. At a maximum, only three NFC East will make it to the playoffs. In reality, some weaker team will rise from the scrap-heap to claim the second wild card slot. The season is not decided in September, but Dallas certainly has the look of the best September to December team in the NFL, let alone their conference and division. As noted, Philadelphia and New York were in a dead heat for second billing with most giving the Eagles a slight edge. Washington, who was expected to be the doormat of this division, have reeled off two straight wins, albeit at home, against decent competition and Jason Campbell looks worthy of being an NFL quarterback. You can think of this as a one-game suspension. You can also think of this as a potential chemistry killer. Chemistry - the very reason that the Giants are the defending Super Bowl champions. Though the Giants are off to a 3-0 start, their competition is a combined 2-7, and they had to eek out an overtime home victory against the winless Bengals. Long story short, the margin for error is too little for chemistry issues in addition to the existing set of personnel losses. Plax's ego minus his production is too big a loss, because I do not think he will let it go (even though he is likely at full fault for whatever it is that he did) after he returns to work two weeks from now. Also, his presence allows for players like Toomer to dominate on 3rd down and Smith to roam the field out of the slot.

Fantasy Football Week: Challenge #1: Which team do you want?

Post I of III

This past Saturday, Armin/Sum/Pay/myself (Clement) met up at the world’s greatest unofficial draft headquarters for our yearly fantasy football draft (#1 of 2 actually) for a league we playfully have been a part of named the ‘Frank Stallone League’.

Let the hilarity ensue.

I will detail a few league rules in a few sentences; however, I’m going to first format the series of three posts you’ll see this week.

I'm sure A-Pete didn't go 11th overall in your draft, but due to keeper allocation rights...he did in ours!
Credit: Yahoo! Sports

Challenge #1: Which team do you want?
-I’ll post our collective rosters for our four squads. Simply put, which one do you want most? Why???

Challenge #2: Which 1^st Rounders were steals and which were debacles?
-I’ll post our entire first round, 12 picks in all, and I promise…you won’t see it coming.

Challenge #3: Who would you have kept?
-Keeper leagues aren’t the norm; however, I want to challenge a few of our readers to see just who you would and would not have reached on when keeper allocations are potentially on the line?

Now here are some league rules. We have tried our best to make this the most challenging of fantasy leagues out there.

Basics
A) 12-teams.
B) 16-round ladder draft.
C) Starters include 2 QBs, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K, & 1 DEF. 6 reserve sports.

Draft
D) Max of 2 min/pick for the first 6 rounds and Max of 1 min/pick for the last 10.

Free Agents/Waivers
E) Teams will be locked 5 minutes before kickoff of the first game until the kickoff of the Monday night game in terms of free agents. If the commish or a designate fails to lock the teams, the honor system is in effect.
F) Free agent draft: If you wish to pick up a player in the free agent draft, send me an e-mail indicating who you wish to add and drop in order of priority by 10am on Tuesday. Free agents will go to teams with the highest waiver priority (determined by worst record).

Keepers
G) Each team has two keeper allocations; 1 for rounds 4-9 and 1 for rounds 10-16. Keeper allocations CAN be traded. They DO NOT carry over to next season.
H) If you drop a player during the season, you cannot keep him next year (unless due to season-ending injury or a QB-related forced drop.)

2-Starting QB Rules
I) If a backup becomes a starter and you have 4 starting QBs, you must drop/trade one w/i 24 hours.
J) You will maintain keeper rights to the QB in the case of a forced drop.
K) If you have 3 starters on your roster, you may NOT pick up a 4^th starter with the intention of working a trade. Picking up a starting QB when you already have 3 can only be done if you are dropping one of your 3 current starters.

Draft Lottery Bonuses
L) Each owner will predict the Conference Champions, Super Bowl Champions, League MVP and the tie-breaker. The winner will get an extra entry for the #1 pick overall.
M) The winner of the regular season championship will receive an extra entry for the #1 pick overall.

After viewing my draft, I think Wall-E might've been a savvier fantasy football GM.
Credit: Rotten Tomatoes

Note: If you see the word [keeper’ next to a player’s name, that particular draftee was automatically kept on their team by their owner (check above for rules for keepers) by using either their own keeper allocation or trading for someone else’s.

Without any further banter…let’s take a look at the teams.

Team #1: Armin [3^rd pick overall]

Who else would you take if names like LT, AP, and Brady were off the board?
Credit: Seven Again

1- Peyton Manning
2- Marques Colston
3- Eli Manning
4- Steve Smith [Carolina]
5- Jonathan Stewart
6- Selvin Young
7- Trent Edwards
8- Patrick Crayton
9- Michael Turner [keeper]
10- Vernon Davis
11- Jerious Norwood
12- Anthony Gonzalez
13- Timothy Hightower
14- Seattle DEF
15- Josh Scobee
16- Laurent Robinson

Team #2: Sum [5^th pick overall]

Can YOU name this 6'7 wideout rookie?
Credit: Eastwood Mailman

1- Clinton Portis (traded 5^th pick to Pay in deal)
2- Drew Brees
3- TJ Houshmanzadeh
4- Darren McFadden
5- Anquan Boldin
6- Jason Campbell
7- Ronnie Brown
8- Donte Stallworth
9- Chicago DEF
10- Jay Cutler [keeper]
11- Vincent Jackson
12- Chad Henne
13- Tony Scheffler
14- James Hardy
15- Indianapolis DEF
16- Rob Bironas

Team #3: Clement [10^th pick overall]

Anybody else peg him as a potential 3rd-rounder last month?
Credit: Yahoo! Sports

1- Larry Johnson
2- Terrell Owens
3- Brett Favre
4- Reggie Bush
5- Vince Young [keeper]
6- Kellen Winslow Jr. [keeper]
7- Felix Jones
8- Laveraneus Coles
9- Kevin Smith
10- Minnesota DEF
11- Joe Flacco
12- Ted Ginn, Jr.
13- Chris Brown
14- Jabbar Gaffney
15- Sage Rosenfels
16- Ladell Betts

Team #4: Paymon [12^th pick overall]

How much would you risk for a guy who automatically misses 2 or 3 games?
Credit: Yahoo! Sports

1- Stephen Jackson (traded for #5 pick overall in a trade)
2- Carson Palmer
3- Torry Holt
4- Willis McGahee
5- Jason Witten [keeper]
6- Marvin Harrison
7- Chad Pennington
8- Brandon Marshall [keeper]
9- Kyle Orton
10- Ricky Williams
11- Pittsburgh DEF
12- Brady Quinn
13- Ray Rice
14- Kevin Walter
15- Drew Bennett
16- Josh Brown

A lot to take in? Imagine our trepidation…

ESPECIALLY MINE!?!?!

Until next challenge…