Kurse Watch (Fantasy Focus)

The Kurse came off Drew Brees' bye and re-announced its presence with authority. Deion Branch out for a couple weeks, Shaun Alexander's fullback retired, Drew Brees crapped the bed...again, and the very injury that Kurse watch predicted in the beginning of the year, and reiterated last week, happened. The Kurse went through Cadillac Williams and knocked out Michael Pittman for a good portion of the season. So, here are this weeks rankings with some bonus comments at the end.

Start planning your retirement.
Drew Brees. It's all over, and I personally apologize to all Saints fans. My brother says he hates Drew Brees, but he only has himself to blame. He should have drafted all Patriots, then he might have had a chance.

Quick, fake an injury!
Shaun Alexander. He's already been severely average. He's playing with a broken hand. His fullback was just forced to retired due to a spinal injury. All not good signs with the kurse running out of targets.

1-2, he's comin' for you...
Travis Henry stays right here this week. I think we all agree that it's only a matter of time at this point.

Safe...for now
Deion Branch! Nice job suffering that "minor" injury in order to avoid more serious damage.

I'm a Survivor!
Randy Moss had an off day, but it's not enough to remove him from this spot. Also, Braylon Edwards is very close to joining him here.

We could be in the midst of the most destructive year in the history of the Kurse. It's not pretty, and shows no signs of letting up, but let's finish up with something a little more positive...

Maybe it's the celebrations, or the endearing "me first" attitude, but I've always been partial to WRs. I always pay special attention to them and here are some observations on a few of the young (3rd year in the league or less) potential breakout WR's over the next season or two:

FYI, this is more "Who's Next", than "Who's Now" so don't expect to see Braylon Edwards/Marques Colston types.

-Dwayne Bowe is a man. I didn't see this coming, and I have a hard time complimenting anything about the Chiefs, but he's far and away the best rookie wide receiver right now (apologies to The Ginn Family), and he would be even if Calvin Johnson was healthy. I'm not simply basing this off of his one huge game against the Chargers, watch him play and you'll see it too. He catches everything, demands the ball, and has a blend of size, strength, and speed that would remind you of Luke Staley.

-Brandon Marshall: He's another one that looks to be pretty solid. He's got the measurables and is in a better situation than Bowe, but Cutler hasn't exactly been the dream QB many pegged him to be. As far as talent/ability goes, I see him as more of a #2 and put him behind Bowe. But his fantasy value is probably similar , maybe even slightly higher, because Denver should end up being less inept on offense than KC and Javon Walker is never on the field to take looks away from him.

-Santonio Holmes: He proved, at least for one week, that he could be a number 1 guy. He was pretty consistent and productive throughout most of his rookie season as well. I wasn't sold on Holmes when he came out, but I certainly think Pittsburgh is getting the most out of him for their offensive style. I'm not sure I'd want him as my #1, or how successful he'd be somewhere else, but in Pittsburgh, as an afterthought to most defenses - perfect fit. A significant upgrade talent wise over Randle El in that same role.

-Vincent Jackson: He finished strong last season and a lot of people were excited about his potential coming into his third season on a loaded Chargers team. His numbers are decent so far, but I have trouble taking him seriously for a number of reasons. First, he even says he's out there to run block more than anything. Second, I've seen him drop too many catchable balls over the last season+. Third, the Chargers just don't throw to people not named Antonio Gates that often. So, what you're getting right now is probably the best you can hope for. About 4 catches for 60-75 yards. If he gets a TD and/or breaks 100 yards, consider yourself fortunate for the week.

-Roddy White: He's had some atrocious drops over his first three seasons, but is making the most of his chances this year. Believe me, I watched Joey Harrington over throw Chris Chambers countless times, so while the number of receptions is discouraging (aside from the Carolina game), I'm sure it's not entirely his fault. That being said, he struggled mightily his first two seasons, and it could be tough for him to flourish in that offense, without a QB. I'd stay away from him this season and next until the Falcons showed some stability and he showed some consistency.

-Demetrius Williams: I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Williams is the real deal. It's almost to the point where I'm even wanting Kyle Boller to start just so there's someone that can reach Demetrius (from his knees even!). If the Ravens had an offensive line that could buy just a little time for a capable QB to throw downfield, their offense would make a much bigger jump than awful to adequate. They have a group of weapons that fit nicely together in Williams, Mason, Clayton, Heap, McGahee, but they're all being wasted right now.


Others I'm keeping an eye on, but want to see more of:
Greg Jennings, James Jones, Jacoby Jones, Sidney Rice, Ted Ginn Jr., Calvin Johnson, Anthony Gonzalez, Robert Meachem, and of course - Chad WOLFEGANG Jackson! Chad was my next big thing at WR coming out of Florida, then he got stuck on the Patriots and tore his ACL. I'm still rooting for him, but it's not going to be easy.

Here are some that I think cannot be successful in their current situations:
Reggie Brown, Devery Henderson, Troy Williamson, Matt Jones, Brandon Jones, Derek Hagan


That's all for now, maybe some baseball tomorrow before the weekly NFL picks on Friday.

Kurse Watch - Week 5 Fantasy Focus

I was thinking about talking some baseball playoffs, but there's not a heck of a lot to be said - certainly nothing you won't read elsewhere a million times. The pitching was phenomenal, and the teams with the better pitching won. I was surprised to see Carlos Marmol play the goat for the Cubs though, he's got nasty stuff and I'd kill to have him in the Mets bullpen.

So that's that, onto the Kurse watch...

Mostly good things coming from the Gecko camp this week. It seems the Kurse may have taken week 4 off. With Drew Brees on a bye, team Gecko won their fantasy matchup and Keith went to Giants Stadium to see his team beat the Eagles. During which, he also witnessed his favorite play in football (Donovan McNabb getting sacked) a record number of times. And at the end of the day, Brian Leonard was still standing. That being said, week 4 was not without it's casualties and week 5 is certainly not lacking for story lines.

Start planning your retirement.
A bye week is not enough to move Drew Brees out of this spot. He should be grateful he's still in one piece, and pray the Kurse has moved on.

Quick, fake an injury!
Brian Leonard. Ok, so you survived the first week, but look at your offensive line. It's missing three starters, you're QB is out with broken ribs and his replacement is best known for slamming his head into a wall. Oh yea, and the RB ahead of you on the depth chart is out with a torn groin. You'd be pretty much screwed WITHOUT the curse, so it might be wise to limp off the practice field this week.

1-2, he's comin' for you...
We got two sitting here this week.

Travis Henry has rushed for 128 yards or more in three of his four games this season. And the one game he didn't, he found the end zone to make up for it. But, he's seen hobbling around the practice field these days with all sorts of ailments and you know Shanny won't wait to make Selvin Young, or some other guy he picks up off waivers this week, the next big thing.

Michael Pittman makes the list for the second time this year. Last time he was here after Caddy got banged up and I jokingly mentioned the Kurse has become so evolved it's going through people just to get to Keith's players. Well, Caddy is now done for the season, maybe for life, and Pittman will have a bigger role. Oh, and Keith is starting him this week. Michael, those footsteps you hear are not Dwight Freeney's...it's far worse.

Needless to say, I'm giddy about having Earnest Graham on my bench. It shouldn't take long for the Kurse to make him an even more viable option.

Safe...for now
Braylon Edwards - 375 yards and 4 TDs in four games? With Derek Anderson throwing the ball? Ravens, Steelers, Raiders defenses involved? I'm almost sold...

I'm a Survivor!
Randy Moss - Durden put it best sometime during Moss' weekly field day, this time on Monday Night. The Raiders should be forced to forfeit their #1 pick for trading Moss to the Patriots for a 4th rounder.


This week's NFL picks will be up Friday morning.


As for the MLB Postseason, I don't have much rooting interest (aside from rooting against the Phils and Yanks), but I wouldn't mind seeing something like this:

Rockies sweep Phillies
D'backs over Cubs in 5
Sox over Halos
Indians sweep Yanks (ARod 0 for the series)

Indians over Sox
Dbacks over Rockies

Dbacks over Indians (Byrnes and Valverde played a big role in my fantasy baseball championship this year, I owe them this much)

And if 'Zona could do it while scoring less runs than their opponents in the postseason as well, that would make it even better.

Has the Kurse gone too far?

If you aren’t up to speed on the Kurse of Keith (KoK), it’s highly recommended that you skim the following four posts before proceeding to read about how badly Keith got KoK blocked this week.

Intro to the Kurse
Kurse Watch 1
Alexander's Mysterious Injury
Kurse Watch 2

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“I don’t even know what to say. I mean, this is ridiculous.”
- Keith

That was my brother’s Yahoo! Smack talk on this somber Tuesday morning, and that pretty much sums up the feeling of everyone who’s been around the Kurse of Keith.

By now, you know the history of the Kurse and the names it’s taken out in the past (Shaun Alexander, Steve Smith, Deuce McAllister, Priest Holmes, just to name a few), and you know what it’s done to Drew Brees and the Saints this year.

If you recall, on opening day Keith was ready to shred all history of the Kurse. He was optimistic and proclaimed “Drew Brees is going to score so many fantasy points that he’s going to break stat tracker!” We all know how that turned out.

So, put yourself in Keith’s shoes for a minute. Here we are in week 3. You’re 0-2 (thanks in large part to Brees), and the Kurse has clearly established itself. The last time you had positive words for Brees in your smack talk was a complete disaster. You’re leading your fantasy matchup 98.48 to 95.59 and you still have Brees to play. Your opponent has Chris Brown. Even if Brown finds his way to the end zone (he didn’t), you would still likely have the upper hand as long as Brees didn’t totally implode (he did).

Even so, the obvious approach is to lay low, expect the worst, and just hope you are fortunate for once and eke out a win somehow, right? Well Keith, ever the King of Wishful Thinking, offered up the following smack talk throughout the day on Monday.

That line from Keith prompted this Gmail chat exchange before kickoff where I, too, tried to talk myself into Keith winning, before coming to the realization that he didn’t have a prayer.

5:09 PM Durden: I think Keith doesn’t understand the kurse
5:11 PM Mazzone: why not?
5:12 PM Durden: haha, he’s talking about a win being in sight
Mazzone: yea, but he wins a few games a year and even made the playoffs once, in spite of the kurse…
(thinking…thinking…)
5:13 PM Mazzone: but damn, you have to figure Brees for negative points tonight, no?
Durden: well, that's what I’m saying...if I’m Keith, I do not think a win is "in sight" until I actually see it

So, while the train wreck that ensued was not exactly a surprise, it was still painful to watch. So much so, that I turned away at half time and left NFL.com game cast and Durden to update me on the happenings. It was especially brutal for me, even though I wasn’t involved in the fantasy matchup, because I had seen this before.

Last year, I had a sizeable lead in a matchup going into MNF and I started Rex Grossman over Matt Leinart in the “They are who we thought they were!” game. The Sex Cannon lost me the matchup with this line: 14 for 37, 144 yards, 4 INTs, 2 sacks, 2 fumbles. I told Durden after just two Saints offensive possessions that it felt like that night all over again. Brees’ line wasn’t as bad as Sexy Rexy’s, but it will still make you cringe: 29 for 45, 225 yards, 4 INTs, 1 sack, 1 fumble.

To make matters worse, my brother's fantasy matchup was going back and forth all night. With 5 minutes left in the game Keith took the lead on six consecutive Drew Brees completions. Only to see the 7^th pass attempt of the drive result in an interception, putting him behind again with just three minutes left. Believe it or not, the good news was that the pick went to the house so, instead of the Titans killing the clock, Brees would get the ball back with one last chance to salvage a win for team Gecko.

This time, Brees rattled off five consecutive completions and Keith had regained the lead with a mere 1:25 to play! When Lance Moore dropped the next pass it seemed like a minor setback to the average person, but those of us who know Keith and the Kurse, knew better. That drop signaled the beginning of the end. And on the next play, Brees’ pass found the Titans KEITH Bullock for the 3^rd time in the game. Bringing new meaning to the Kurse of Keith and providing a fitting end to the night, as that 16^th incompletion and 4^th interception dropped team Gecko to 0-3.

It truly is amazing, and if you aren’t a believer by now then you’re just being stubborn. So, without further ado it’s this week’s Kurse Watch, with an interesting developing story line NOT involving Drew Brees…

As always, adjust your rosters accordingly…

Start planning your retirement.
Drew Brees’ family, friends, pets, teammates, high school classmates… At this point, no one is safe. Just ask Deuce McAllister who tore his ACL trying to haul in a Brees pass. It’s the second time McAllister has fallen victim to the Kurse.

Quick, fake an injury!
It might be too late for Lee Evans (occupied this spot last week), who has 5 catches for 29 yards on the season, but it’s not too late for Jay Cutler. Jay - Drew Brees is on a bye this week, and you’re Keith’s backup QB. Do yourself a favor and tweak a hamstring in practice. Or maybe, sprain an ankle?

1-2, he's comin' for you...
A little background on this one: Everyone in our fantasy league is from New Jersey, Keith completed grad school at Rutgers and owns a #23 Scarlet Knights Jersey. Long a fan of Brian Leonard, Keith drafted him this year - only to have to cut him after the first couple weeks. Naturally, SJax goes down after Keith cuts Leonard.

Fortunately for Keith, not so much for Brian, team Gecko added Leonard to the mix off waivers this morning. This IMMEDIATELY sparked a “FREE BRIAN LEONARD” campaign in our league chat. No one is excited about the impending doom hovering over the Great White Hope from New Jersey. Here’s a copy of what’s transpired so far:
________________
Poor Brian Leonard
Posted by: Dave (White WRs/Black QBs) Sep 25 1:29pm
On a day that should be so exciting for Brian Leonard, he suffers the misfortune of being picked up by Keith. Any chance of Brian stepping in for Steven Jackson and performing well has now gone out the window. Keith, I know that you love some Brian Leonard, but sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go. Let Brian go. It's his only chance of becoming a player in the National Football League. If you keep him on your roster, he will surely be cut prior to next season after disappointing with a 1.2 ypc average and at least 7 fumbles lost. Things can only be worse for him if you decide to play him, as a career ending injury is sure to follow. So Keith, I ask you, as a fellow fan of Brian Leonard, the Great White Hope for Running Backs, LET HIM GO, Please, let him go.

Re: Poor Brian Leonard
Posted by: Rory (BoobieTassles) Sep 25 1:40pm
I second Dave's heartfelt plea.

Wow
Posted by: durden (Makin It Reign) Sep 25 2:14pm
I've never encountered something like this as commish before...is this a FREE Brian Leonard campaign?!

Do t-shirts need to get made?

Re: Poor Brian Leonard
Posted by: Mazzone(Tropical Storm Chris) Sep 25 2:14pm
I didn't want to be the first to say it but Durden and I talked about this after hearing of SJax's injury. The initial hope was that since Keith cut Leonard he would be penalized by the Kurse in that Brees would do just enough to win last night so Keith couldn't get Leonard in waivers...

Since that didn't happen I've already begun mourning the upcoming Brian Leonard injury. Terrible news.
________________

So there you have it, Brian. We’re all rooting for you, but be careful, be very very careful.


***Update*** There are rumors coming from an anonymous source close to the situation that Keith is attempting to trade Brian Leonard before the weekend in hopes of saving his career. I’ll keep you posted.


Safe...for now
Shaun Alexander: You know it’s bad when the person appearing under “Safe for now” is a running back playing with a broken wrist. 300 yards and 2 TDs isn’t Shaun Alexander-like, but it’s not terrible with a broken wrist and we’re not going to give up on him just yet as he seems determined to beat the Kurse.

I'm a Survivor!
Randy Moss: On his way to 17 consecutive weeks here.


I have nothing left to say. I can’t even really blame Keith if he doesn’t believe in football anymore…

He said what?!

If there were any non-believers in the Kurse going into tonight, there are no more or certainly won’t be after tomorrow. I will cover the details in the Wednesday weekly Kurse watch, but it’s not going to be pretty. Along the same lines of watching Rex Grossman, it’s hard for me to find humor in it anymore. It makes me a little sick to my stomach just thinking about the latest chapter in the Kurse of Keith…

On a brighter note (at least for me), those of you that enjoyed my fantasy football disaster last week that brought a name change from Hurricane Chris to Tropical Storm Chris (zero touchdowns in my starting lineup and only two TD’s on my total roster of 15 offensive players) will be disappointed to hear that this week offered up a much different scenario, as expected.

I couldn’t even find room in my lineup for all my studs, as the same 15 offensive players accounted for 19 TDs, a two point conversion, and a boat load of yards en route to being the highest scoring lineup in the league for week 3. Back in biz!

If Archie Manning had a sense of humor he would have tried to kiss Suzy Kolber like I had hoped. But, since he didn't, I don’t have anything else to share about the game until tomorrow's Kurse watch. So, here are some fun quotes from around the sports world this week, but first we'll kick it off with a non-sports related personal favorite...

"I was in a casino. I was standing by the door, and a security guard came over and said

'You're gonna have to move. You're blocking the fire exit.'

As though if there was a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you are flammable and have legs, then you are never blocking a fire exit...

You can write that down and put a dash in front of it, and put my name at the bottom."
-the late Mitch Hedberg

“I’m just going to strike out a lot,” he said. “I always lead every league I’m in in strikeouts, so I figure if it’s the major leagues, at least that’s the best league. It’s better than leading the Pacific Coast League.”
- Jack Cust
After playing in just 118 games and striking out 154 times, most in the American League

"I didn't get to the quarterback. I suck right now. So there. There's your headline.''
-Jason Taylor
After, well, sucking for the third straight game..

"This decision lacks integrity, and it lacks ethics.''
- Daryl Johnston after Dallas signed troubled defensive tackle Tank Johnson.
Oh really?! Should we remind DJ of some of the guys he has to thank for his Super Bowl titles?


"Brett Favre will be 38 in October... October 10th should be a national holiday, by the way."
-Chris Berman
Not realizing how sick everyone is with regards to the polyandrous relationship he, John Madden, and the rest of the media have with Brett Favre.


"Here's the concern -- in our society now, so many things come up on Web sites and Internet," Edwards said. "First of all, I don't even have the Internet. I wouldn't even know how to use it."
-Chiefs Head Coach Herman Edwards
Suddenly everything makes sense. I imagine something like this… “So many people are focused on managing the clock these days. I don’t even know how to tell time.”


"The best way I can describe it is it felt like somebody bungee jumped off my right nut."
-Ken Griffey Junior describing his recent abdominal injury
Ouch.


"The thing that makes me laugh is what so many players and coaches have said about us having their plays. Like the Eagles saying we knew everything that was coming in the Super Bowl because we ran so many screens. Give me a break. Of course we ran all those screens! They blitz on every down!''
-Tom Brady
I hate the guy, but that’s a valid argument.


And finally, this exchange happened in OVERTIME of a huge game, and we have the mind boggling video to prove it.
Mike Patrick: I’ve got an important question.
Todd Blackledge: "Go ahead."
Patrick: "What is Britney doing with her life?"
Blackledge: "Who?"
Patrick: "Britney!"
Blackledge: "Britney who?"
Patrick: "Spears…What's she doing with her career?"
(laughter)
Blackledge: "Why do we care at this point? …Is she here?"
Patrick: “I don’t think so.”
Blackledge: “Is she a football fan?”
Patrick: “Oh, I’m sure she is.”…Georgia from the 25…Stafford want’s it aaaallll, TOUCHDOWN!

Fantasy Focus (Kurse Watch)

We’re back with another week of Kurse watch ’07, where Keith has taken on the role of Roy Williams declaring “Yeah, I’m 0-2, but I’m the BEST 0-2 team in the [fantasy] league.” Which is technically true. Somehow, he’s salvaged enough points to be able to make that claim, but don’t let that positive spin fool you, the Kurse of Keith has only just begun.

As always, adjust your rosters accordingly…

Start planning your retirement.
Drew Brees: I really don’t need to say much here, but one Saints fan did get in touch with me pleading for me to take action. He’s never met my brother and only knows me through fantasy leagues, but clearly understands what’s happening (screen name changed for privacy purposes)…
*SaintsFan* (9:53:00 PM): get brees off keith's roster
*SaintsFan* (9:53:07 PM): for the love of god

Quick, fake an injury!
Lee Evans: I know I gave him a pass after week 1, but 4 catches for 22 yards – no, that’s not last game, that’s for the season. Sure, he’s played the Broncos and Steelers, but the schedule doesn’t exactly turn into a cake walk the next few weeks (Patriots, Jets, Cowboys, Ravens). Evans might be wise to fake an injury before the Kurse teams up with an errant J.P. Losman pass to take him out for good.

1-2, he's comin' for you...
Shaun Alexander: Keith drafted him first overall last season and the Kurse wasted little time going to work. This year he took him a little later and it seemed he might be safe. That is, until last week when Alexander showed up at practice with an unexplained cast/brace on his wrist. Alexander had just 75 total yards (only 3.75 yards per touch) in the loss to the Cardinals, but he did find the endzone.

Safe...for now
Travis Henry: Is it possible for Henry, a runningback who’s struggled with injuries, consistency, and sharing carries most of his career to overcome not only Mike Shanahan’s RB history, but also Keith in the same season? His 5.4 yards per carry and 319 total yards in two games would suggest so. It seems too good to be true, I mean Henry was an obvious choice to be afflicted by the kurse before the season began. Well, he’s safe for now, but it’s a long season, and he has yet to score a touchdown…

I'm a Survivor!
Randy Moss – sigh. F the Patriots.

A couple guys you’ll probably bench that I like in Week 3 :

Bernard Berrian: I know, I know, as long as Rex Grossman is involved the Bears offensive players should probably be off limits, but I’ve seen Jacque Reeves and that Cowboy secondary and I’m ready to go against them every week for fantasy purposes until Terrence Newman proves he’s healthy.

DeShaun Foster: Look there’s no way DeAngelo Hall and everyone else on the Falcons isn’t going to be keying on Steve Smith this week. Will they stop him? I’m not sure that’s possible at this point, but the Panthers would be wise to get Foster involved, just in case. Adrian Peterson destroyed the Falcons without any semblance of a passing game to help, and even Fred Taylor averaged over 4 yards per carry for a Jags running game that looks downright awful. Foster is averaging 4.5 ypc this season and is getting a few more touches than DeAngelo Williams right now.

As an added bonus, neither of these players have any ties to Keith.

That’s all for tonight. It’s time to finish up some work for my actual paying job and hope sports and I can resolve our lover’s quarrel in time for the Mets to take care of business.