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 new 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!
Only one word describes Week 11 – WOW! We saw an absolutely stunning performance by Matt Schaub who tallied 527 passing yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That performance places him in a tie for the second most passing yards in a single NFL game! His partner in crime in that game was Andre Johnson who pulled in 14 receptions for 273 receiving yards and one touchdown. That performance places him ninth overall in the NFL record book for most receiving yards in a game. As for rushing, we had Doug Martin who ran for 138 yards on 24 carries.
The DLF staff slid back some with only 11 shots called, this was due in part to some of the staff being unable to enter their shots due to a variety of reason. When all things are considered 11 correct shots aren’t too bad in that situation. TheFFGhost, won the week with three correct shots while several others were able to tally two shots a piece. Here are the DLF staff’s correct shots called for week 11:
Eric Hardter – In one of the “defense-optional” games this week, Megatron continues his hot streak with 140+ yards and a touchdown.
TheFFGhost – No Eagles receiver goes over 100 receiving yards.
Jaron Foster – McCoy leads the Eagles in receptions as Foles relies on the dumpoffs.
TheFFGhost – Foster will triple Jennings’ total yards.
Andy Miley – Reece has 7+ catches with over 120 combo yards.
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.
Eric Dickens – Gronk has a 2 TD performance.
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.
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.
The DLF staff tallied another 11 shots to mirror or correct shots called. Here are those shots:
Andy Miley – Roddy gets 7+ catches and a touchdown.
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.
Andy Miley – Foles throws two interceptions and under 200 yards.
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.
TheFFGhost – Quinn and Long both add to their sack totals.
TheFFGhost – In an interesting shift Rivers out passes Manning.
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.
Now comes the favorite part of most of our readers, finding out who won the week. Well, in Week 11 we chose to do something we haven’t done before – award two winners. One you’re familiar with, Jeremy Nusbaum, who is absolutely dominating the Calling Our Shots reader portion. Jeremy called eight shots correctly this week and was head and shoulders above nearly everyone. The second reader we are going to put an entry in for at the end of the year drawing is James Noel. James got three calls correct but he just missed on many, many more. If James had limited himself, he easily would have taken the week. However, James was overzealous on some of his calls throwing in two and three predictions called per game in a single shot. He would routinely hit on many of the calls, but miss on some small part of the call which made it unable to be fully counted.
A suggestion to everyone, try to limit the call to one thing you’re sure of or one thing you really reaching on. If you start to combine calls in one shot and you miss any aspect of the shot, we can’t count it. That said, congratulations to our winners in the first week we’ve ever recognized two different readers! Great job to Jeremy Nusbaum and James Noel!
So what shots do the DLF staff in store for Week 12? I’m glad you asked, here they are:
Minnesota @ Chicago
TheFFGhost – If Campbell play,s he gets sacked 4 or more times. If Cutler plays, Marshall goes over 100 receiving yards.
Eric Olinger – Chicago D has at least two turnovers.
Andy Miley – Peterson and Forte rack up 100 combined yards each.
Eric Hardter – Following the 49ers blueprint, the Vikings unleash Rudolph to the tune of 70+ yards and a TD.
Chris Rohrer – Forte totals 125 combined yards.
Oakland @ Cincinnati
TheFFGhost – Oakland has more receiving yards then Cincinnati does.
Eric Olinger – Marcel Reece has 130+ total yards.
Andy Miley – AJ Green has 120+ yards and 2 scores.
Eric Hardter – Carson Palmer throws for 300+ yards and 2+ interceptions in another losing effort.
Chris Rohrer – BJGE finds the end zone.
Jaron Foster – Palmer throws TD passes to 3 different receivers.
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland
TheFFGhost – This turns into a defensive battle with each defense getting at least two turnovers.
Eric Olinger – This game will be the lowest scoring game of the week.
Andy Miley – Steelers defense scores a touchdown.
Eric Hardter – Trent Richardson is held to under 80 total yards.
Chris Rohrer – There are at least 5 field goals combined by the two teams.
Jaron Foster – Cleveland defense forces 3+ turnovers.
Buffalo @ Indianapolis
Eric Dickens – Andrew Luck throws 4 TD passes.
TheFFGhost – Hilton will have over 75 yards and a score as he starts to become regularly rosterable.
Eric Olinger – Andrew Luck and Ryan Fitzpatrick combine for over 600 yards passing.
Andy Miley – Luck throws for over 350 yards and 3 TDs.
Eric Hardter – CJ Spiller starts and goes for 150+ total yards.
Chris Rohrer – Dwayne Allen continues his modest streak with at least 5 receptions for 60 yards.
Jaron Foster – Allen finally finds the end zone again.
Denver @ Kansas City
TheFFGhost – Hillman fills in very well and goes over 100 all-purpose yards.
Eric Olinger – Lance Ball scores a touchdown.
Andy Miley – Hillman has 100 combined yards including 4+ catches in his first start.
Eric Hardter – Brady Quinn is held to under 200 yards passing and 2+ turnovers.
Chris Rohrer – Demaryius Thomas tops 7 receptions and the century mark.
Jaron Foster – Thomas and Decker both score.
Seattle @ Miami
TheFFGhost – Miami has to go to the air to stay competitive, Hartline gets at least 8 receptions.
Eric Olinger – Miami rushes for less than 100 yards as a team.
Andy Miley – Russell Wilson outduels Ryan Tannehill in passing TDs (3), but Tanne throws for more yards 250+.
Eric Hardter – Marshawn Lynch wins the battle of “unstoppable force vs immovable object” against the Dolphins D, going for 100+ rushing yards and a score.
Chris Rohrer – Hartline leads both teams in receiving.
Atlanta @ Tampa Bay
Eric Dickens – Roddy White goes over 100 yards and adds a TD.
TheFFGhost – Gonzalez goes over 100 receiving yards and a score.
Eric Olinger – Doug Martin has 125 total yards.
Andy Miley – Matt Ryan bounces back by throwing for over 350 and 3 touchdowns.
Eric Hardter – Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White combine for over 200 receiving yards.
Chris Rohrer – Doug Martin finds the end zone twice.
Tennessee @ Jacksonville
Eric Dickens – Kendall Wright has 6+ receptions on the day.
TheFFGhost – Chris Johnson goes over 100 total yards and scores.
Eric Olinger – This game turns into a shootout. Locker and Henne combine for 6 total touchdowns.
Andy Miley – CJK gets 150+ yards and a touchdown.
Eric Hardter – Jake Locker gets back into a grove, accounting for 240+ passing yards, 30 rushing yards and 2+ touchdowns.
Chris Rohrer – Chad Henne records 275+ yards and multiple touchdowns in his second feature perfermance.
Baltimore @ San Diego
TheFFGhost – Rice doubles Mathews’ total yards.
Eric Olinger – Denario Alexander keeps the hot streak going. 80 yards and a TD.
Andy Miley – Baltimore returns an interception and a fumble for a touchdown.
Eric Hardter – Ray Rice finally breaks out of his slump with 130+ total yards and a score.
Chris Rohrer – Torrey Smith redeems himself after last weeks 1 catch performance by finding the end zone in week 12.
St. Louis @ Arizona
Eric Dickens – Brandon Gibson has a TD of over 40 yds.
TheFFGhost – Gibson is the leading receiver in this game (If Amendola doesn’t play).
Eric Olinger – Beanie Wells leads the Cardinals in rushing, breaking the 50 yard mark in his return.
Andy Miley – Larry Fitzgerald does not go over 25 yards.
Eric Hardter – Against all odds, Ryan Lindley throws for more yards than Sam Bradford.
Chris Rohrer – Stephens-Howling follows up last weeks gem with 75+ yards but fails to score.
San Francisco @ New Orleans
Eric Dickens – Kendall Hunter gets over 50 yards in spot duty.
TheFFGhost – Kaepernick goes over 250 passing yards.
Eric Olinger – Colin Kaepernick finds Vernon Davis for a touchdown for the second week in a row.
Andy Miley – Ingram gets another 15+ touches and scores again.
Eric Hardter – Marques Colston proves to be a mismatch in the slot, accumulating 100+ receiving yards.
Chris Rohrer – Frank Gore eclipses the century mark on the ground.
Green Bay @ NY Giants
TheFFGhost – Five different players will have a touchdown in this game.
Eric Olinger – Eli Manning snaps out of his funk and throws for 300+ yards with multiple TDs.
Andy Miley – Cobb and Nicks both have 100 yards and a touchdown.
Eric Hardter – Nicks finally re-asserts himself as the Giants wide receiver to own, getting more yards and receptions than Victor Cruz.
Chris Rohrer – There are at least 6 passing touchdowns thrown by the two quarterbacks combined.
Carolina @ Philadelphia
Eric Dickens – Cam Newton combines for 3+ TD’s.
TheFFGhost – Philly hardly notices McCoy is gone as Brown goes over 75 rushing yards and gets in the endzone.
Eric Olinger – No running back in this game eclipses 70 yards rushing,
Andy Miley – Bryce Brown gets 100 combined yards.
Eric Hardter – Jonathan Stewart finally gets rolling with 90+ total yards and a score.
Every week brings new possibilities and twists and turns, both in the NFl and here and DLF. Last week no one (who posted) would have guessed we’d see the second most dominant passing performance in NFL history. If you knew that was about to happen then you should have posted it! You’d have been a shoe-in for the winner of Week 11. Congratulations to our *TWO* winners this week, Jeremy Nusbaum and James Noel. Get the tryptophan out of your system and get some shots recorded for Week 12!
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!
Loading ...
Bryce Brown has 80+ and a TD
Colston and Graham both score for Saints
DX goes over 100 yards. 2 words for ya… start him.
Vincent Jackson has the most receiving yards in the game on both squads.
P. Manning 280, 3 TDs in 3 quarters of work.
2 TDs for the Lawfirm
Jonathan Dwyer leads Steelers in rushing again.
Doug “Quail Man” Martin : 125+ total yds & atleast 1 TD
Bryce Brown” : 100 total yds & TD
Nicks: 1st game over 100yds since wk 2
If JAX can hold Foster to <100yds then they stone CJ too: under 80yds rushing
Shorts & Blackmon both find the end zone
Beanie Wells leads ARI in carries and adds a TD for good measure
Ronnie Hilman underwhelms with less than 75 total yds
Frank Gore totals 25 touches for the first time this season.
Carolina’s front 7 abuses Nick Foles to the tune of 5+ sacks.
David Wilson leads the Giants in rushing as a bigger part of the game plan coming out of the bye.
Seattle’s secondary keeps Tannehil from completing a TD pass.
Andy Dalton has a career day with 400+ passing yards in a shootout with Oakland.
Andrew Luck breaks his own single game rookie passing record.
MIN@CHI: Adrian Peterson puts up 120+ total yards for the 5th straight week against a top-5 Bears defense.
OAK@CIN: Despite Palmer averaging 365 ypg in the past 3 and Dalton averaging only 208 ypg in his past 4, Dalton throws for more yards than Palmer this week.
PIT@CLE: Starting their 3rd QB in 3 weeks and reeling from a loss at home last week, the Steelers still manage to pull off a win on the road against the division rival Browns.
BUF@IND: Luck and the Colts rebound big and not only win, but they more than cover the 3 point spread.
DEN@KCC: Despite losing McGahee and playing an away game, the Denver offense keeps it up and produces over 350 total yards.
SEA@MIA: Struggling rookie QBs and top 10 defenses make for an ugly matchup. Under 400 yards passing between both teams.
ATL@TAM: Michael Turner is held to under 65 yards rushing and 1 or fewer TD’s.
TEN@JAC: Parmele proves last week wasn’t a fluke and rushes for more than 75 yards again this week.
BAL@SDC: Ryan Mathews rushes for more yards than Ray Rice. (I own both, so honestly I hope they each rush for 200+).
STL@ARI: After losing 6 straight, the Cardinals bounce back to win AND beat the 1.5 point spread, even starting Lindley at QB.
SFO@NOS: Even against the worst-ranked defense in the NFL, the 49ers QB doesn’t meet their season-best mark (currently 303 yards passing). Also, to make this a higher degree of difficulty, I’ll take the “under” line of 51, even though that would have lost in 2/3 of the Saints games this year.
GBP@NYG: There are at least 250% more passing yards than rushing yards with both teams’ stats combined.
CAR@PHI: Struggling defenses weakly collide with struggling offenses. Defenses eek out the “victory” (really, it’s the viewers who lose). 5 or fewer offensive TD’s scored between both teams.
Crazy calls that aren’t my official entry, but that I’ve been thinking all week (but likely won’t happen given what most professional analysts think):
1. Carolina’s defense finishes in top 10 for fantasy scoring this week. I wouldn’t be surprised with top 6.
2. Parmele outproduces Hillman.
3. Kaepernick gets the start and finishes in the top 12 for QBs fantasy scoring this week.
4. Myers is a top 7 TE for the 4th week in a row.
5. Lindley completes at least 1 pass of 40+ yards and overall performs better than Foles (although that’s not saying much).
Side note: I will never trust a RB from the Colts, Packers or Cardinals. No player from any of the 3 is in the top 30 RB’s season-to-date in standard scoring. Wells was the only player from any of the 3 to crack the top 30 last year.
Calls that I got correct so far: MIN@CHI, OAK@CIN, BUF@IND, DEN@KCC, and ATL@TAM.
Calls that I missed: PIT@CLE (6 fumbles and 3 int’s, PIT? Seriously?), SEA@MIA, TEN@JAC, BAL@SDC, STL@ARI (why in the world did I bet on the Cardinals winning?), SFO@NOS, and GBP@NYG.
Rough week relative to the past few, but still not terrible. 5-7 so far. We will see how the final game goes (if anyone watches that train wreck), and I’ll plan to update everything tomorrow, including the bonus calls.
Looks like I ended the week at 5-8, with Cam and Bryce Brown tearing it up to ruin my final call.
I fared OK on my bonus calls as well. 2-5. Considering how crazy they were, I’m good with that.
1.BUFF@COLTS Vick Ballard scores his 1st rushing TD of the season.
2.STL@ARI Robert Quinn has 2 sacks
3.SFO@NOS Darren Sproles returns from injury and scores a receiving TD
4.GBP@NYG Jordy Nelson leads the Packers in receiving yards against the Giants this week
5.OAK@CINN A tight end from each team scores a TD this week.
MIN@CHI: Bears D dominates poor Ponder, Marshall 2 TDS
OAK@CIN: Marvin Jones gets a TD
PIT@CLE: TRich held under 80 yards 0 TDS
BUF@IND: CJ Spiller 200+ Total Yards 2TDs
DEN@KCC: Moreno puts up 100 + a score
SEA@MIA: Russel Wilson throws 3TDs
ATL@TAM: The Quizz show starts, 100 Total yards and a score
TEN@JAC: Henne comes back to life 225yds 1TD 2INT, Kenny Britt also comes back to life, 150yds 2TDS
BAL@SDC: Torrey Smith 2 TDs
STL@ARI: no news here, ARI blows
SFO@NOS: As everyone else know CK goes off 400yards 3Tds
GBP@NYG: Cobb with 100+ 2Tds
CAR@PHI: Nick Foles comes alive 300yards 2 Tds
Thanks for the mention. I noticed I went a little overboard two weeks ago and after missing last weeks column due to Thanksgiving craziness. I look forward to Week 13 calling your shots. Bring it on!