Calling our Shots: Week Eleven

Fantasy football can at times be a very funny place to seek help when you need it most. One week, a so called “expert” will tell you to start “Player A” because “Player A” is a “can’t miss” starter who will blow up that week. A week later, that expert will deny giving that advice to their readers or followers but will be more than happy to tell you to start “Player B” this week. It would be almost comical in some instances if it wasn’t so tragic for the people who take the advice of these charlatans.

As a staff member of DLF, I can tell you that everyone affiliated with this site both loathes and detests this behavior. Every staff member on the DLF team constantly tries to learn and better ourselves so we may be of better help to you. Part of that process is being accountable for our successes, as well as our failures. We’re doing that each and every week as we’re offering personalized lineup advice as part of our premium content. We’re answering every question posted in a timely manner and helping out as best we can – those answers are public knowledge and we’ll stand by them every week.

We’ve also decided to roll out this series entitled, “Calling Our Shots.” The premise of this series is to get some predictions for the upcoming week. Some writer’s predictions are bold, some are solid, while others, well, we wouldn’t place too much money on them in Las Vegas!

When we’re right, we’ll share our successes. When we’re wrong, it should present a great way for our loyal readers to give us a good (and hopefully friendly) ribbing. The point is we don’t hide from the advice we give or the predictions we make.

We also want to give you the same chance.

Our community is an essential part of the success of DLF. This weekly series also asks YOU, the readers, to post your own shots in the comments below. We all have that coach in our league who says, “Yeah, I could have told you not to start that guy” and perhaps that’s even you who thinks that! Well, here’s your chance to make those bold predictions when they count - before the games are played. We invite everyone to blow up the comments section again today and make any player predictions you want for the week – this will give you a perfect opportunity to officially say, “I told you so,” or offer a brutally embarrassing piece of ammunition for your opponent to use against you next week. Either way, this is a great way for the community and the writers to have some good old fashioned fun each and every week!

Every person who is featured in subsequent weeks will be put into a drawing after week 17 for a free yearly membership or their renewal to our premium content and a free DLF T-shirt!

If you recall, week nine was a big one for rookies. Week ten saw the return of the old guard. First, Matt Ryan slung the pigskin all around Mercedes Benz field to the tune of 411 passing yards and three touchdowns in Atlanta’s first loss. In terms of rushing, we saw the old workhorse, Adrian Peterson, put on a clinic and dispell rumors of his demise with 171 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Finally, we saw the Megatron everyone has been waiting for as he absolutely single-handedly dismantled the Vikings defense with 12 receptions for 207 receiving yards and, wait for it, a touchdown!

Just as the NFL veterans stepped back up and threw down a week of incredible performances, so too did the DLF staff. The DLF staff posted their best week thus far with an amazing 24 shots called correctly! This performance goes down in the DLF record book and it could be quite a while before we see it broken. We saw three members of our staff tie for the weekly shot caller title with Jacob Feldman, Eric Olinger and Chris Rohrer all tallying five correct shots called. Here are the DLF staff’s correctly called shots for week ten:

Jacob Feldman – AJ Green continues his TD streak and makes it 8 straight games.

TheFFGhost – No WR goes over 100 yards receiving. (Tennessee vs. Miami)

Eric Olinger – Kyle Rudolph finds the endzone.

Jacob Feldman – Megatron gets his second touchdown of the year.

Chris Rohrer – Stafford goes for 300 yards and multiple touchdowns.

Eric Olinger – CJ Spiller gets his touches and has over 100 total yards.

Chris Rohrer – Ridley posts 75+ yards and a score.

TheFFGhost – Both Gonzalez and Graham have over five catches each and go over 100 yards each.

Eric Olinger – Tony Gonzalez finally returns to the end zone.

Eric Dickens – Danario Alexander finds the end zone against the Bucs.

TheFFGhost – Martin will be held under 100 rushing yards.

Jacob Feldman – Stewart out produces Williams, but he still disappoints fantasy owners.

Eric Hardter – The Panthers great defensive ends get stoned by Denver’s OL and Peyton Manning’s audibles.  Zero sacks for Johnson and Hardy.

Jacob Feldman – Palmer posts 300+ yards and multiple TDs on the day, yet the Raiders still lose.

Andy Miley – Marcel Reece has the most receptions of anyone in this game.

Chris Rohrer – Torrey Smith finds the end zone again.

TheFFGhost – Lynch goes over 100 rushing yards and doubles Greene’s rushing yards.

Eric Olinger – Marshawn Lynch over 100 yards and a score.

Andy Miley – Jets fail to score over 10 points in Seattle.

Eric Hardter – Is it too bold to say “no one outside of New York and Seattle will care about this game?”  Well then how about Mark Sanchez is held to under 200 yards passing then.

Eric Olinger – Frank Gore rushes for 80 yards and a score.

Chris Rohrer – Amendola leads both teams in receptions.

Jacob Feldman – Foster’s production is down, but he saves the fantasy day with a goaline TD. Bears force 2+ turnovers.

Andy Miley – The two teams combine for under 24 total points scored (Bears and Texans).

Eric Hardter – Arian Foster will be held to under 3.5 yards per carry.

Chris Rohrer – Cutler has multiple picks.

Unfortunately the DLF staff just missed on another five called shots, here are those shots:

Eric Hardter – Adrian Peterson and Mikel Leshoure combine for over 225 rushing yards.

Eric Dickens – Donald Jones is a nice spot start with 75+ yards receiving.

Andy Miley – This will be Rivers best game of 2012: 300 yards and 3 scores.

Eric Hardter – In the battle of embattled QB’s, Tony Romo outduels Mike Vick, with 240+ yards passing and 2+ TD’s.

Jacob Feldman – Crabtree shows that week 8 wasn’t a fluke as he has another productive week with 5+ catches for 80+ yards and a score.

So which of our readers stepped up to claim the Week 10 Shot Caller of the Week crown? Did you find the NFL games as easy to predict as the DLF staff did? Well, while two-week reigning champion Jeremy Nusbaum made a strong play as a three-time champion with eight correct shots called, the DLF staff decided to award the week to Doug Dischler who had two amazingly bold shots which required him to go pretty far out on a limb. So, while Jeremy Nusbaum was clearly the leader this week in terms of correct shots called, the uniqueness of Doug Dischler’s ultimately won him the week. Remember, uniqueness of the shots called also play a big part in the DLF’s decision making process. That being said, a big congratulations to Doug, here are his correct shots:

- NYG@CIN Andre Brown scores for the 4th straight game.

- DAL@PHI – Welcome to the NFL Nick Foles…Vick is knocked out of the game.

Can the DLF staff extend their white hot streak? Let’s find out with the DLF staff’s shots for Week 11:

Arizona @ Atlanta

Eric Dickens – The Cardinals are held to under 25 team rushing yards.

TheFFGhost – The lead receiver in the game will have more yards than all rushers in this game combined.

Andy Miley – Roddy gets 7+ catches and a touchdown.

Eric Hardter – Julio Jones shakes off his injury and produced more receiving yards than Roddy White.

Cleveland @ Dallas

TheFFGhost – Romo goes off on the Browns secondary for over 350 yards passing.

Andy Miley – TRich gets 125 combined yards and a touchdown.

Eric Hardter – Tony Romo has another efficient outing, going over 260 yards passing with 2+ touchdowns.

Green Bay @ Detroit

TheFFGhost – There Will Be Blood…in the secondary, over 600 yards of passing in this game.

Andy Miley – Cobb and Calvin both go over 100 yards.

Eric Hardter – In one of the “defense-optional” games this week, Megatron continues his hot streak with 140+ yards and a touchdown.

Jaron Foster – Stafford and Rodgers combine for 7+ TDs.

Cincinnati @ Kansas City

TheFFGhost – AJ Green will get at least two touchdowns.

Andy Miley – Gresham gets 70+ yards and scores.

Eric Hardter – Jamaal Charles is used correctly two weeks in a row, getting over 20 touches and 120 total yards.

Jaron Foster – Bowe with 75+ yards and a score in second-half garbage time.

Philadelphia @ Washington

TheFFGhost – No Eagles receiver goes over 100 receiving yards.

Andy Miley – Foles throws two interceptions and under 200 yards.

Eric Hardter – Fresh off a bye, RGIII rips through a fading Eagles defense, accounting for 350 total yards and 3+ scores.

Jaron Foster – McCoy leads the Eagles in receptions as Foles relies on the dumpoffs.

Tampa Bay @ Carolina

Eric Dickens – Cam racks up 3 total TD’s on the day.

TheFFGhost – Both QBs go over 275 passing yards and also rush at least 5 times a piece.

Andy Miley – Dougie has 150+ yards and scores.

Eric Hardter – Cam Newton’s downward spiral continues, as he accounts for at least two more turnovers in a loss.

Jacksonville @ Houston

TheFFGhost – Foster will triple Jennings’ total yards.

Andy Miley – Every Houston tailback that plays, scores.

Eric Hardter – This game will be over by the first quarter, and Arian Foster totes the rock to the tune of 25+ carries and 150+ yards.

NY Jets @ St. Louis

TheFFGhost – Quinn and Long both add to their sack totals.

Andy Miley – S-Jax and little Richardson both go over 75 combo yards each.

Eric Hardter – Danny Amendola continues his impressive return from injury, posting 8+ catches for 100+ yards.

New Orleans @ Oakland

Eric Dickens – Denarius Moore has over 80 yards receiving and a TD.

TheFFGhost – There will be over 700 passing yards in this game.

Andy Miley – Reece has 7+ catches with over 120 combo yards

Eric Hardter – In the “other” shootout of the week, Carson Palmer and Drew Brees combine for 760+ passing yards and 6+ touchdowns.

San Diego @ Denver

TheFFGhost – In an interesting shift Rivers out passes Manning.

Andy Miley – Rivers gets sacked 4+ times, throws a pick, and fumbles. Start Denver D.

Eric Hardter – Denver gets a comfortable enough lead that Ronnie Hillman sees 8+ touches.

Indianapolis @ New England

Eric Dickens – Gronk has a 2 TD performance.

TheFFGhost – Both Welker and Gronk are targeted over 8 times, so is Wayne.

Andy Miley – Dwayne Allen gets 75+ yards.

Eric Hardter – New England clamps down on the Colts’ rushing attack, leading Andrew Luck to air it out more than 50 times, accumulating 350+ passing yards.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh

TheFFGhost – Mendy returns and goes over 50 rushing yards.

Andy Miley – Rice will have over 110 combo yards

Eric Hardter – I guess it’s not too bold to say that this game isn’t that interesting without Big Ben, huh?  How about the Ravens record 5+ sacks of Byron Leftwich then?

Chicago @ San Francisco

Eric Dickens – Vernon Davis gets on track with a TD.

TheFFGhost – The turnover battle swings against Chicago as the 49ers have the better turnover ratio.

Andy Miley – America and I are asleep by halftime, only scores are from defenses or kickers.

Eric Hardter – San Francisco sends the Bears to a second straight loss, abusing the their OL (and whoever is under center) to the tune of 6+ sacks.

Remember everyone, if you don’t play, you can’t win! Who wouldn’t want to win a free year of DLF Premium and a DLF t-shirt? Throw in some bold predictions, mix in a couple of “sure shots” and fill out the spectrum between these two extremes and next week we may be announcing that you, too, have a chance to win the year end drawing! Once again we’d like to tip our hat to the Week 10 Shot Caller of the week, Doug Dischler!

Don’t forget, if we select your entry we’ll enter you into a drawing for a full year of DLF premium content and a free DLF t-shirt!