A Look Back on Week 3's (ridiculous) Predictions

As if stepping out on a limb wasn't enough, now we're actually going to re-visit the predictions?!


Yep, I'm a glutton for punishment...




"Broken Dreams"
1. Michael Vick will throw for 400 yards... but rush for less than 10

--- Michael Vick came in with all his weapons healthy, but left with his hand in a soft cast and Jeremy Maclin hobbled with a hamstring injury. Vick was held to 176 yards passing and was hurt - AGAIN - while in the pocket (he also rushed for 31 yards). The Giants secondary looked solid, especially after the D knocked out Vick.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 9/10

"Forgive me my sins"
2. Mark Ingram will score 20 fantasy points

--- Ingram rushed for a TD in the 4th quarter but only managed 38 yards on the ground against a Texans defense playing with the lead. Though the Saints probably were forced to throw a bit more, early and often, than they would have liked, it would've taken a small miracle for Ingram to get to 20 points. The Texans remain solid on defense, despite the story told by the 40 points scored. More importantly, Ingram is at best the #2 RB on that team until injuries strike.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 7/10


"Blowin' in the wind (and rain)"
3. DeAngelo Williams will score 10 fantasy points

--- D-Will looked like the second-best RB on a team that can't run the ball (yeah, that's as bad as it sounds). The Daily Show Jonathan Stewart had a pretty decent game but Williams only managed 35 yards without a score in the near-hurricane level weather, and should now be viewed as a bench player until he (and his woeful offensive line) start playing better.

Score on the Wrong-ness scale: 10/10


"Bills past due"
4. Ryan Fitzpatrick will outscore Tom Brady in fantasy points... but not real points

--- Well, obviously, the second part was incorrect. Buffalo managed to beat their rivals for the second time in about a decade, and Fitzpatrick was the leader of the revolution. More important for fantasy owners, he put up 369 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Tom Brady, however, threw two TDs (and 2 INTs) more than Fitzpatrick, so the prediction is incorrect. Fitzpatrick has vaulted into the top-12 QBs and the Patriots are an attractive defense to start a QB against until otherwise proven.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 6/10


"Marshalled resources"
5. Brandon Marshall will be held to less than 40 yards receiving

--- So he ended with 43 yards... can we just count this as a win? Seriously, I need one as badly as the 0-3 Dolphins do. Marshall still flashed his typical talent but Joe Haden proved as troublesome as thought, holding him in check. What does this mean? It basically means any #1 WR with less talent than Brandon Marshall (there are about 10 guys this does NOT apply to) should be started with care against the Browns... or benched.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 2/10


"No jail break for the Bengals"
6. The 49ers will hold the Bengals to fewer than 200 total yards


--- Okay, so the Bengals got up to 228 total yards. I can't be perfect, can I? The idea is this: The Niners are (somehow) playing pretty darn good defense, as long as they're not facing anyone explosive - i.e., the Rams, Seahawks, and all Cardinals not named "Larry". The Bengals also will be inconsistent at best with a rookie QB and a bunch of alleged criminals at the skill positions. The Niners can easily be added as a D/ST and the Bengals should be avoided unless you are pretty desperate.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 2/10


"CJ(not O)K"
7. Chris Johnson will accumulate over 150 total yards


--- The Broncos defense is not that good; just wanted to get that out of the way. The problem here is that CJ does not look like himself (13 car., 12 yds & 4 catches, 54 yds), for whatever reason you want to attribute. He does not look as quick, and to be fair, the entire offensive line is struggling. Also of note, Hasselbeck has turned this team into a rather effective air attack, meaning the rush to get CJ 25 carries in a game won't be coming soon. I wouldn't recommend selling extremely low on CJ, but owners are allowed to start worrying.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 9/10


"Jared Allen stirrin' the pot"
8. Matthew Stafford will be sacked 5+ times


--- Stafford definitely took a beating, especially in the first half, as the Vikings jumped out to a 20-0 lead. Jared Allen completely dominated (3 sacks) Jeff Backus on the offensive left side and Gosder Cherilus was subbed out as he allowed 2 more sacks (yes, that's 5 total) to Brian Robinson. This line needs to improve immediately, especially considering the Packers and Bears are both on the schedule twice more. Stafford still led his team to a comeback victory and put up pretty good numbers, but the threat of injury is as strong as ever.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 1/10


"The Rams get Ngata"
9. The Ravens will hold the Rams to fewer than 20 yards rushing


--- The idea of this prediction was to go super-low, just to make it more impressive when it actually happened. In reality, the Rams found a way to muster 112 yards on the ground, but the idea still applied: Not many teams can run effectively on the Ravens, and the Rams are certainly not one of those teams. Steven Jackson played but was held to 23 yards on 4 carries and Cadillac Williams looked average at best, gaining 75 yards in mostly garbage time work. The Ravens are frightening against the run, but not as frightening as the prospect of Sam Bradford dropping back 50 times a game behind that shaky line.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 4/10


"No Greene light on the ground"
10. The Jets will struggle to run the ball and Shonn Greene will have less than 5 fantasy points


--- To be fair, Shonn Greene basically never catches the ball and this prediction would have been spot-on had he not suddenly learned his hands work (for more than just fumbling - ZING!) on Sunday. He caught an astounding 7 passes for 47 yards, but his rushing total was only 59 (5.9 points, for those scoring at home). The Jets run game was dreadful and obviously missed Nick Mangold. But even with Mangold in, the Jets have thrown more than the past two years, possibly stemming for (misguided?) trust in the crooked-nose Mark Sanchez. I don't like it, and fantasy owners shouldn't either - if you're going to throw the ball a ton, at least get it to Santonio Holmes more than once! (19 yds)

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 5/10


"Squeaky Gates"
11. Antonio Gates plays and scores 2 TDs


--- Nothin' to see here, people, move along! Okay, so Gates didn't play. Okay, so maybe I was trying to reverse jinx him and it worked. Gates still should be viewed as a top-5 TE, but if you're just now getting a backup for him on your roster, good luck. In all seriousness, the TE position is deeper this year than in any other I can remember, so don't worry about having Gates, just make sure to check the pre-game reports and keep him in if he plays.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 10/10 (I don't even play a doctor on TV)


"Scoreless in Seattle"
12. No player on either team will score more than 15 fantasy points


--- Of all my predictions from this week, I cannot believe this one was correct. 15 points is a meager total for fantasy points on a day, yet absolutely nobody in this game reached that level (unless you count PPR leagues). I really think the Seattle home field advantage had a lot to do with it - remember, we saw guys like Phillip Rivers and Drew Brees come into Seattle and struggle last year. Is Kevin Kolb anything like either of those guys? Not close. Will he have a game this bad anytime soon? Probably not.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 1/10


"Bucs take booty from Rodgers" (You guessed it: I just like using the term "booty)
13. Jacquizz Rodgers will approach 100 total yards


--- When I said "approaching", you knew I meant "within 74 yards", right???... Rodgers got 2 carries for 7 yards, but that was only 13 yards less than Burner Turner gained. The Bucs line manhandled the Falcons, dropping Matt Ryan 4 times. Of more fantasy relevance, the Bucs also tried to take the ball out of the air and keep it, handing off to Blount 25 times and owning time of possession (36 minutes). The Bucs are tough to play at home, but this game reeked of a divisional "throw-away" game, in which the stats don't matter. Look for the Dirty Birds to bounce back quickly this week against the Seahawks.

Score on Wrong-ness Scale: 74/10


"Jay Soldiers on"
14. Jay Cutler will throw for more than 300 yards


--- 2 yards, that's how close this one came to being wrong. Cutler threw the ball 37 times (as opposed to only 9 called run plays) and wound up with 302 yards passing and 2 TDs. He actually looked okay at times... if you ignore his terrible offensive line and the half-dozen Packers jersey at his ankles and on his back. Cutler is a backup in fantasy for a reason, due mostly to the fact he could be knocked out of any game at this point. But it's good to know he can still put up viable numbers against the team strongest against fantasy QBs a year ago.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 1/10


"Isaac left red-faced"
15. Isaac Redman will get 15 fantasy points


--- Wow, the Steelers line is even worse than the aforementioned Falcons and Bears. The line could only "unleash" Rashard Mendenhall for 37 yards on the ground, and you guessed it: Isaac Redman did not get 110 yards more than the guy he backs up. The Colts actually looked pretty darn good on defense, eager to show they belong on national TV (ESPN sure hopes so, they play the Bucs on Monday Night this week). The Steelers running game, on the other hand, is a major concern going forward. Their line is a mess and Mendenhall runs too tentatively to make a lot on his own. If you can sell him high at this point, by all means, do it. And if you're holding onto Redman as a handcuff, it's hard to see him having a whole lot of value even if Mendenhall goes down.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: I would say "6" because that's how many rushing yards Redman got, but we all know it's: 10/10


"Romo-mentum hits a brick wall"
16. Tony Romo will score less than 10 points in 4-pt passing TD leagues


--- Amazingly, this prediction was correct across the board, with Romo scoring 10 points in all formats (255 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT). We all know what Romo is capable of and I expect him to regain his form as early as next week.... what's that? He's welcoming Ndamkung SUH (you have to capitalize every letter of his last name or he'll kill you in his sleep) and the Lions on a short week? Okay, Romo will be back in week 5, then. Also, don't sleep on the Redskins and their stout defense. They looked fast and strong all night, rushing the passer and holding Dallas without a TD all night. I would hesitate to start my QB against this team as they put a bunch of pressure on opposing passers.

Score on the Wrong-ness Scale: 0/10