By Matt Hellman and Joshua Madden
Photo Editor & A&E Editor
Editor’s Introduction: In part of what may or may not be an on-going column, this week we have decided to ask two people who know almost nothing about sports for fantasy football advice, mainly just for the sweet, sweet taste of irony. Our resident A&E editor, Joshua Madden, and photo editor, Matt Hellman, seemed like obvious picks for two people who might not know anything about sports. Despite actually drafting his own team and not relying on a penny, Joshua is currently 0-2 while Matt is somehow 2-0 — perhaps partially because one of his opponents was Joshua — so they’re here to give you their advice. Enjoy.
Question: Who is the best fantasy player this year?
Joshua: It’s certainly not Arian Foster, who I drafted with the first overall pick in one of my leagues. He’s played a total of part of one game for me, so I’ve been REEEALLLLY happy with my first-round pick there. As for the best pick you could have made, Adrian Peterson would be my guess, but I’d have to look at point totals and I just don’t feel like doing that right now.
Matt: It’s Calvin Johnson hands down. I mean come on guys! The man has feet like lightning, and don’t even get me started on his catching ability. The ball sticks to his hands more than Baylor to the Big 12. If Johnson were any better, the Energizer bunny would give him his own drum to beat!
Question: Who is a good dark horse fantasy player that people should try to pick up or trade for?
Joshua: I’m really excited to actually have an answer for a question for a change. I’ve actually been lucky enough to stumble into three players who have been out-performing most expectations. Kenny Britt has been an absolute star, although at this point, anyone who has drafted him probably isn’t going to pick him up. Ben Tate and Cam Newton are both open in a lot of leagues despite scoring a lot of points lately, so you might try to take advantage of those two.
Matt: The real diamond player is Beanie Wells. Looking back at the last two games, Wells has shown excellent improvement. Yeah, he takes a while to get on his feet, but once he’s up and running, he’s a solid catch. Josh just thinks he has a good player there, and maybe he does, but it’s okay. He still tasted defeat by my hands.
Question: I have Drew Brees playing Houston and Kevin Kolb playing the Seahawks. Should I start the really good quarterback against the (so-far) good defense or the above average quarterback against the terrible defense?
Joshua: This is a no-brainer. Start Drew Brees. He scored a ton of points against Green Bay in week one and Green Bay is at least comparable in quality, if not just outright better than the Texans, so I don’t see Brees having any trouble scoring a lot of points.
Matt: I’m with Josh on this one. If Brees was able to score so many points against Green Bay (who has an excellent defensive line by the way) then there is no reason not to start him. Besides, the Texans’ defensive line isn’t all that great.
Question: Off the top of your head, can you guess the top five players in terms of fantasy points our league so far?
Joshua: My guess would be Tyler, Daniel and Krista, because they’re the sports staff, Chris, because he’s editor-in-chief, and then Matt because somehow, despite his best efforts, he is still 2-0.
Matt: Well starting from the top we have Krista for sure. Following her is Tyler, and then me of course. The next two I am not so sure about, but I would have to guess Chris, followed closely by Daniel Houston. If you notice, Josh isn’t even ranked. Obviously it is because he is still 0-2.
Question: Finally, Joshua, you’ve already lost to the sports editor (Wes Welker, baby!) and Matt, you’re about to lose this weekend. CAN’T WAIT! Shouldn’t we just give him the trophy now?
Joshua: I’m the comeback kid. Vengeance will be sweet. Plus Ray Rice is still doing well, so as long as he doesn’t get injured, I may actually end up doing ok.
Matt: This sports editor (he who shall not be named) may not realize it, but he has already lost. His mom called me last night and told me he left his game at home. I could probably beat him with my benched team. That trophy has my name on it. It will be looking pretty shiny on my desk in a few months.
