Mikey D

What an awesome Week 1 of football.

As I mentioned before, my dad and I are in a pick em' pool with 66 other guys. We each had to pay $100 to get in, and our goal was to win just one of the 17 weeks to get our money back and have a little extra spending cash.

One week in, and we've got our money! About $600!!!

We won the week, going 13-3. We missed on the Lions, 49ers, and Cowboys, but we nailed some good ones, and a lot of toss-up games. Getting the Texans, Jaguars, Buccanneers, Patriots, Steelers, and Ravens was huge, but it was the pick that won the week for us that made me the most proud.

It came down to the last Monday night game, Chargers and Chiefs. We were tied with a couple other people, both of whom picked the Chargers. In fact, only 2 out of the 66 people in the pool picked the Chiefs to win Monday night. We were one of those two. And of all the games this week, this was one of the ones I hesitated the least when making the picks.

On paper, it's San Diego all the way. If this were Week 13, and the Chargers were fighting for playoff position and Kansas City was a measly 1-12, then San Diego would be the pick. But this is Week 1. Teams are motivated. Fans are pumped. And the good teams sometimes haven't quite found their groove yet.

More than that, Kansas City had a lot going in it's favor:
~Crennel and Weis, the old Patriots coordinators, were brought in. Proven winners, and respected.
~Playmakers. Charles and McCluster. Those guys are electrifying, and good for at least one game changing play.
~They were playing a Chargers team without Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeil, both All-Pros. A team without its weapons is a team with question marks. See Vikings, Minnesota.
~The game was in Kansas City! Arrowhead Stadium is not like Ford Field. It's crazy there! And it was deafening most of the night.
~The Chargers are notorious slow starters. Last year they opened up with Oakland and fell flat on their faces. That's just the way they've been in the past.

It makes me happy that was the pick that won it for us. Now next week I will probably be picking against Kansas City as they go on the road against Cleveland. Maybe.

***
And it was a good week in fantasy (for all of us). I'm not going to jump to conclusions based on one week, but I was happy with my team (duh). I got production from my quarterbacks and running backs, which are the strengths of my team, but I was most happy with my WRs. If they can combine for about 200 yards and 2 TDs every week, I will be ecstatic. It's obviously my biggest weakness, so any production is great. Good start.

Oh, interesting idea I read about. A group of guys are playing in a "Losers" fantasy league. It's basically a reverse of the current fantasy rules and scoring, where INTs are more valuable than TDs, and the more yards a RB racks up, the more it hurts your team. Fumbles are gold, and porous defenses are treasured. Obviously the draft consists of a lot of Rams, Bills, Lions, and Raiders being taken in the first couple of rounds. Just an interesting twist on fantasy. I think that it would be kind of fun.

~Mikey D