It’s week 11, and at this point you know if you have a shot at the playoffs or not. You have added and dropped, second guessed your self, cursed at Chris Johnson (I know I have), and maybe even traded a play or two. So what do you do now to keep the momentum going? Here is some friendly advice to the teams that are on top or looking to get into the playoffs.

Never “Set it and forget it”

Yeah that line worked for the “Ronco Rotisserie Cooker” (bad infomercial reference), but not for your fantasy football line up. These next few weeks are crucial; you cannot just coast and lock up the playoff spot we are all looking for. I have preached matchups all season and for the most part I have been right, play the guys with the best match ups, it is OK to bench the big names for the best matchups. Remember the real NFL teams are looking better than others, so they may sit someone for a game because he is “a little banged up” because they can win without him, especially an offensive linemen, which could effect the running game.

Last Minute Pickups

I know at this point of the season this is very tough to do, but, “another man’s trash, is another man’s treasure!” This is so true with add/drops at this point. Look at what the guys in your league are dropping, and if you can fit them in your lineup, do it. When you see someone add Lex Hilliard because he is Ricky Williams’s backup and they drop someone that had actually produced this year, add him to your bench, you never know when you will need an extra player, guys are getting injured left and right and the good teams are looking to the playoffs.

Kickers and Defenses can make a difference!

Yep, I said it. This is completely going against anything that I have ever said when talking about fantasy football, but this season it has been true. Let’s face it, points are points, whatever you can get is great. I usually draft a kicker with a big leg (extra points for distance) and a team that scores a lot of points, so basically I draft Neil Rackers every year. That has backfired on me as the Cardinals score more TD’s than they used to and I am getting 1 point instead of the 3 or 4 I used to. Look at the teams that have Red Zone issues, or the bad teams that are just happy to get on the board. Couple suggestions, Jason Hanson, Josh Brown, ect. As far as the Defenses go, matchups are huge, look at the bad teams and who they are playing, and if you can get their D, do it. I am actually playing the Detroit Defense against the lowly Browns. They cannot move the ball and the odds of a pick 6 are huge! Hopefully that helps you roll into the playoffs, if it doesn’t,

I feel your pain, been there, doing that! Look for another blog on how to be the spoiler!

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/sportsguymike and email me questions, suggestions, and complaints, to sportsguymike@gmail.com

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It’s time for me to rant and get something off of my chest that has been brewing since the news broke just a few weeks ago. I could not be more disgusted with this entire Donte Stallworth situation. I know that everyone has aired their grievances, but I wasn’t here at BigTroph when this story was the hot topic, plus I don’t think that it can be talked about enough because it irks me more than just about any sports story I have heard in a long time.

Stallworth was drunk (at a tune of twice the legal level) and ran over Mario Reyes, a third shift construction worker, who was on his way home on March 14^th. Stallworth was celebrating his new contract with Cleveland before getting behind the wheel of his SUV. He made some financial settlements with the Reyes family prior to his court appearance and was then sentenced to 30 days in prison. Some people say that the money alone is enough to atone for the unexplainable damages he did to that family, but I think it’s disgusting.

Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for killing and torturing dogs. While I am a dog lover just as much as the next guy, I still cannot bring myself to think that several dogs’ lives are more valuable than a human’s life. I don’t care if Stallworth pled guilty and I don’t care how much money he paid to the late Mr. Reyes’ family. He was sentenced to a whopping 30 days in prison for his killing a man. 30 DAYS?!? When I heard this announcement I was bouncing off the walls in adamant shock.

Well folks, apparently Stallworth behaved himself in prison as he was released today after serving 24 days of his 30 day sentence. At Pro Football Talk, site editor Mike Florio (who is also a lawyer as many of you know) says that “The reduction of actual time served to 80 percent of the sentence isn’t unusual; many jurisdictions employ similar devices to encourage good behavior while inmates are behind bars.” I understand that making plea deals is a common thing in the court room, but are you telling me that any other Joe Schmoe would get punished to just 30 days in jail for DUI manslaughter? I know I know, Stallworth can’t drive a car for a long time and is on house arrest/probation for the next 10 years, but the fact of the matter is that he shouldn’t even be out of the big house for a LONG time. I’m sure he will be living a real tough life on house arrest in his home which is most likely a spacious estate.

The only good thing about him being out of prison is that in the very near future, he will get to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell. Goodell has already suspended him indefinitely meaning he’s not going to be playing anytime soon, but we have all been witnesses to Goodell’s version of serving the time for doing the crime. He has not held back on Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, or Tank Johnson and we have yet to see what he will do with the whole Vick situation. Stallworth should be suspended without pay for all of 2009 and if he’s still on house arrest in 2010, keep him out of the league then too. Going to work at a normal 9-5 job while on house arrest is one thing, but traveling all over the country for NFL games is something entirely different. What are they going to do? Make him stay in his hotel room all night with room service and free HBO? And the team won’t want him to play if he can’t attend practices each week so what’s the point?

Donte Stallworth has never lived up to the hype whether he was in New Orleans, Philadelphia, New England, or Cleveland. He’s been a constant under achiever and now his situation is proving to be an even bigger liability than his weak hamstrings. What Stallworth did is an absolute disgrace. In my eyes, I hope he never sees the opportunity to play in this league again after committing the crime that he did, especially since he came nowhere close to being punished as harshly as he should have been.

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