Five Burning Questions
Halloween is over. Thanksgiving is done. Christmas is coming and I love it. It is the one time of year where something changes in people. Everybody just seems a little bit nicer. I like nice. A lot. One of the nicest things you can do is give. Give to family, friends and especially to those in need.
If you read through the following nonsense, you’ll find yourself at question numero five-o (that is Spanish for, “number five”). It is there myself and the DLF partners will announce our effort to make the holiday season brighter for folks in need. We believe our community has the power to work together to make people’s lives just a little bit better this December 25th. Please help prove us right.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Five Burning Questions, aka, “What did I just read?”
1.) Does Ray Rice have dynasty value?
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Let’s set aside the real life awfulness of Mr. Rice (I’m using the term Mister pretty lightly here) and talk about his NFL prospects.
I’m not an NFL insider (honestly, I can barely even spell, “NFL”), so this is a pure educated guess – Ray Rice will never play in the NFL again. Sadly, it isn’t entirely because he was caught on camera using his wife as a punching bag. If Rice was 24 and in the prime of his career, I suspect he may have found his way on to an NFL roster. But because he is almost 28 and was very ineffective in his last full season, I just don’t see it happening. To me, his reinstatement is a non-story from a fantasy perspective.
Rice should probably be owned (ugh) in all leagues, but if I had him, I’d take whatever I could get in return.
2.) Is Jeremy Hill better than Giovani Bernard?
Hill is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, topping 4.5 in seven of 11 games this season. Bernard is sitting at 3.9 yards per carry and has hit 3.5 only twice in eight games.
So, yeah, Hill is better. At least for now.
A quick trip to the film room confirms what we see on paper: Hill is simply a much better player right now. He may not have the long speed or dynamic moves of Bernard, but he is more than capable of losing would-be tacklers or hitting a home run (he has two runs of 60 or more yards this season).
I think the best comparison I can make for these two players is Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. Hill is Jackson – the steadier, more versatile guy. Bernard is Spiller – a dynamic home run threat who needs to be given the ball in space to be most effective. The Bills rarely got the mix between these two talented players right. Can the Bengals?
We here at DLF are more concerned with the long game, and I still prefer Bernard slightly to Hill. His passing game chops and off-the-charts physical ability combine to make for an exciting ceiling. To get there he’ll need some help from his offensive coordinator (less up the middle, more creativity), which I’m hopeful he will get.
3.) How badly do you want a 6-10 team to win the NFC South?
If you could promise me this would happen, I would give up Funyuns for an entire year. Ok, six months. Um, maybe two weeks? But still, that’s a long time, right?
When looking at the schedules for the contenders in the South, with games against Arizona, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and a road tilt in New Orleans Week 16, Atlanta has the toughest road. The Saints get Carolina, Chicago, Atlanta and Tampa Bay, making them my pick to win the division.
Their prize? Another week of practice and a 20+ point loss to a real NFL team.
4.) How good can Cleveland be with Josh Gordon back in the lineup?
From the research department at the Las Vegas branch of DLF: The combined record of Browns’ opponents is 46-72. The winning percentage of teams Cleveland has beat is .360, which is, uh, not so good.
OK, so they haven’t exactly played the toughest schedule. But, the formerly hapless Browns are 7-4 and did just get back one of the best players in the game in Gordon. His addition as well as the potential return of Jordan Cameron (eventually) takes Cleveland from, “Awww, that’s cute” to, “I don’t want to play this team in January.”
I don’t think we have a world beater here, but the Browns could certainly win the division. If they do, it will need to be on the strength of wins against the Bengals Week 15 and on the road in Baltimore Week 17.
5.) OK, OK, so what’s the big announcement?
The holiday season is upon us and there is no better time than now to help out some folks in need. With that in mind, DLF is proud to announce a Toys for Tots fundraising drive on GoFundMe. There is a ton of info there, including a video message from a very handsome, well-hatted DLF scribe, so I’d ask you to click the link for the full rundown.
The short version is simply this: No matter how bad things are in the world, it isn’t the fault of our children. Every single one of them deserves to be happy, and with your help, we can be a small part of an effort to make that happen. Kids love toys, so let’s work together to put toys in their hands. Please visit our GoFundMe page and give as generously as you can. We’d really appreciate it.
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- How to Win Without Watching Football - July 22, 2021
- 2018 Summer Sleeper: Chicago Bears - July 9, 2018
- NFL Draft Aftermath: Winners and Losers from the AFC North - June 18, 2018
