Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:24 AM

Howdy. We lost Solomon Burke today, and my fantasy teams are having a rough go of it. Coincidence? I think not.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:26 AM

On the other hand, the day hasn't been all bad. The Bills were blacked out in Buffalo, so I pretended they were blacked out in Syracuse, too - Ithaca gets both feeds - and watched other games instead.

Posted by Duane Stay | Oct. 10 at 10:29 AM

Justin, I really like FantasyIndex, but the fact that they won't say Redskins or Chiefs in the mag is aggravating.Politics shouldn't count in ffb.We have enough problems with ffb without politics. What do you think about that?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:29 AM

C.J. Spiller got 6 offensive touches with Marshawn Lynch out of the way. Buffalo led by 10 after six minutes. But Jacksonville never punted, scored eight times, won by 10. 0-16 is very much in play.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:37 AM

Duane: It hasn't been my call, ever, so I've never really thought about it. I'm sure I'd see both arguments if I did. One thing no one focuses on is that Fantasy Index HQ is located in Seattle, and sensitivity to this issue is high in that part of the country. Since I'm sure my colleagues see this enterprise as part of a community, I'm behind the policy and frankly don't find it all that hard to comply with. While I don't personally see the teams' nicknames as especially outrageous, I get that some people do. Put it this way: I'm sure it would mean less to you to see those teams' nicknames in the magazine than it would to those who find the nicknames hurtful.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:42 AM

San Fran looked sharp there: 11 plays, 7 minutes, Smith to Crabtree, 7-0.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:45 AM

I'm most excited to see Kevin Kolb tonight. Liked him in the preseason, even as he struggled to finish drives; he looked like he was going through his reads and making hard, accurate throws once he picked a target. And then he got scrambled in Week 1 and looked awful in Week 4. So here we are. The Kolb era either exists or it doesn't, and tonight may say more about that than anything else.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:48 AM

Brodrick Bunkley done for the game, apparently. I'll tell my story now, then:

Posted by Carlos Jackson | Oct. 10 at 10:48 AM

Man Justin we took a beating on QB's this week did we.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 10:49 AM

hey J...not a bad day for me all in all...I guess I'm in line to win $9.41 this week.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:50 AM

Bunkley was a high school student when I was a substitute at various schools around Tampa. When Hillsborough County trained subs back then, the training included this gem: If a fight breaks out in your classroom, you step directly between the kids who are fighting. In theory, this makes them stop.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:52 AM

So I take a job at Chamberlain and, sure enough, first thing in the morning, Bunkley gets into it with the second-largest human being in the classroom. (For the record, that isn't me.) So I steel myself, stand up, walk over and step between them ...

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:53 AM

... and they stop.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:53 AM

... and Brodrick Bunkley spends the next fifteen minutes of his life laughing at me.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:55 AM

Kolb answers; looks good. 7-7.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 10:58 AM

Looks like a Blue Monday in Cincinnati if Philadelphia continues to shine in the NLDS. Nice to see TB tie it up against Texas also. I guess TB is happy with its sports right now although I don't know how the Lightning are doing early on in the NHL season.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 10:58 AM

Carlos: I'd definitely rather have had other guys going. On the bright side, I didn't use any purchases to take my beating. Still hanging in there - and last I looked I'd actually moved up significantly in the $35K points game.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:00 AM

Kevin: I'm just rooting for you to score 159 or fewer in the JFNFL. Want to keep our piece of that record. But congrats on the big week.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:07 AM

Carlos: Just checked. I'm up to 58th overall in the points game, with Gore and Maclin going in this game and Peterson tomorrow night.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 11:09 AM

At the risk of jinxing myself...If Kolb keeps this up, I'm looking at a 1,000 yard passing week in the FC.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:09 AM

King Dunlap. If you ran an NFL team, wouldn't you have drafted him just to get the name onto your roster?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:11 AM

Kevin: At the risk of jinxing you, how many yards do you need him to finish with?

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 11:13 AM

The number is 276

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:15 AM

ARZ's shocking win today does not bode well for SF. First team to 8 wins takes the NFC West for sure; Niners are hoping that's actually the first team to 7 wins, which they could maybe do. But at 3-2, the Cards could certainly be first to 7.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:16 AM

NOTE: Every team in the division has been outscored in the aggregate in 2010. Seattle's closest to even at 75-77.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:18 AM

Kevin: Funny. I almost wrote, "Assuming the number is 275 or fewer, I think you'll get there."

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:18 AM

I forgot. Alex Smith. Niners can't do 7-9.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 11:22 AM

he threw one incomplete...i'm finished!!

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:25 AM

Don't know if I agree that the coverage wasn't awful on that 3rd-down play. If Smith hadn't gotten to Kolb the guy who beat Dunlap to the inside would have. King needs to start holding.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:27 AM

King - think that's how his mama calls him to breakfast? "Kiiiiiing! Pancakes!"

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:28 AM

Seems like a big gamble to me. What if you name your son King and he turns out to be terrible at everything?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:30 AM

Wikipedia has his full name as King David Dunlap V. Hope that's right. But Wikipedia also had Cam Cameron's first name as Camera a few weeks ago.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:34 AM

If the Niners lose this game they're finished, right? Even in that division. And Singletary should consider firing himself.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:37 AM

Three more games before their bye: vs. OAK, at CAR, vs. DEN. All winnable, but before we think of ANY game as winnable for this team, maybe we should make them, you know, win a game.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:38 AM

McCoy, couldn't be easier. 17-7 PHI. What happened to Singletary's D?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:41 AM

Niners were fourth in the league in 2009 at 17.6 points allowed per game. In 2010: 31, then 25, then 31 again, then 16 when desperate at ATL last week, now this.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:50 AM

Eagles accept the penalty and make it 3rd & 12 instead of 4 & 7, BECAUSE THEY KNOW ALEX SMITH CANNOT HURT THEM. Then they give the yards back with their own penalty, AND ALEX SMITH CANNOT HURT THEM. So Nedney drills the 50-yarder, which proves the Eagles right: Nedney is the biggest threat on SF's offense right now.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:53 AM

Even Frank Gore is completely compromised. He's healthy, so he can't be worse than the 6th- or 7th-best RB in the league, right? But he's on pace for just more than 1,000 yards on the season. Averaging 3.7 yards per carry coming in, 1.7 tonight.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:54 AM

And Nedney misses the shorter kick after the turnover. Figures. Yeccch.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 11:56 AM

and a favorable schedule against bottom run defenses in the league and he still cannot get decent numbers

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:56 AM

Halftime. 17-10 Eagles. I say the Niners come back or their season ends tonight. So if they have any heart at all, and Alex Smith has any ability at all, we should have an OK second half.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 11:58 AM

DISCLAIMER: I am the kiss of death for prime-time games in 2010. Most likely the Eagles run the opening kick of the second half back for a TD and then get a pick-6 on the ensuing "drive." I'm gonna make some dinner and try to quell my aggravation. Back in a few.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:15 PM

Kevin: They can't all be completed, but Kolb looks pretty good to me. Did you drop him and repurchase, or hold him through Vick?

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 12:19 PM

held him through Vick

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:20 PM

Good. Couldn't have asked for a better start to the second half. SF swinging.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:21 PM

Kevin: Smart or lucky, hardly matters. Nice work.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:22 PM

And within one minute of my "Good ... start to the second half," Gore fumbles. Lovely.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 12:22 PM

was that a question? Because I will tell you that I held on to him in part because of your advice and in part because I think Hill may hold on to that job in Detroit longer than people might think.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:27 PM

Kevin: Not a question, but I'll happily take undeserved credit. With that said, I think I read this morning that Stafford should be back next week. But maybe not. This morning seems like a very, very long time ago.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:31 PM

That SNL bit was so funny that NBC has now broadcast it twice. I think if we all write our Senators we can maybe get the network off the air.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:32 PM

In related news, it's not too late to switch to History for the second half of Swamp People. Do that now. I'll keep you posted on the game.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 12:34 PM

The first priority for the Reds next year is to figure out how to beat teams with winning records...since that is not something they can really work on, they need to develop Chapman into their closer and put CoCo in middle relief

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:37 PM

Looks like the rebroadcast of Swamp People doesn't start till 2:00 AM on the East Coast. If I know ESPN, they will have rebroadcast this game damn near IN ITS ENTIRETY three times by then.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:41 PM

Kevin: I wrote in the baseball mag this year that the Reds would be very good a couple of years from now. Turns out they arrived early. This isn't the time to be worried that they'll fall off in 2011. That team is well-positioned for a run not unlike the Rays have made since 2008. Maybe not a mini-dynasty like the Twins - not that you'd want that, exactly - but they'll be contenders for a few seasons, and unlike TB they don't have NYY and BOS to contend with, obviously.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:46 PM

Kevin: Remember, the Chapman signing was still a SHOCK when I was writing about CIN. I counted it as a genuine vote of confidence from management in the youngsters, but now it looks downright visionary. They'll be good for Chapman's whole stay in Cincy. Depending on how things shake out (if TEX wins the World Series the discussion ends), that could turn out to be the best personnel move any team made in 2010.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:48 PM

End of the third, still 17-10. First play of the fourth will be a field goal try for PHI.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:48 PM

And ... no good. SF has very good field position to begin the drive that will end in Alex Smith's decisive INT.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 12:49 PM

do the reds have one more "win in their last at bat" up their sleeve?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:50 PM

Collinsworth chooses to ignore the fact that Ginn would have dropped the ball.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:51 PM

Not a decisive INT for Smith, it turns out. A goofy fumble returned for a TD. 24-10 PHI.

Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 10 at 12:51 PM

I had to come post just because of that play. Wow.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:52 PM

Kinda regret having called that one, because we still have to watch for another 40 minutes.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:54 PM

Kevin: The answer is "of course, and of course not." I'm convinced the entire MLB postseason is one big orgy of random events. The best team in baseball rarely wins the World Series; the series themselves - that's plural, goes for the WS but also the other rounds - are just too short. So teams make the playoffs or they don't, and that's all that really matters.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:55 PM

San Francisco crowd has obviously never seen David Carr play.

Posted by Carlos Jackson | Oct. 10 at 12:55 PM

Is it time to drop Gore?

Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 10 at 12:55 PM

For two straight weeks I've written how the 49ers are going to turn things around "this week." Somebody actually took them in my suicide pool.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 12:56 PM

Kevin: That randomness theory goes equally for fantasy football playoffs. That's why no league should let more than four teams into the playoffs, and the JFNFL never will. Have to keep SOME skill component in the hobby.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:00 PM

Carlos: I dunno. I've tried not to use him in the Football Challenge while still riding him in points. He's such a good receiver, and the state of the passing game makes him such a disproportionately big weapon there, that I still like him where receiving average isn't a category. But in the FC, we're getting to that point.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:00 PM

Justin, I was so bad at picking the winning teams for this week's NFL games that I only had 10 wins for my 22 roster spots in the Free Salary Cap league and 4 of those wins were Detroit players

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:02 PM

Andy: When a 7-9 team DOES win that division, the Niners should all be ashamed of themselves. Has to be worse to root for this team than the Bills, even. We knew we couldn't contend, just wanted to eat and drink in the parking lot and watch Spiller run (and we're at least getting to eat and drink in the parking lot).

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:04 PM

base hit for Phillips in the bottom of the ninth, no outs, Hamel still in

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:04 PM

Kevin: I can't believe you started four Lions. Which four? Best, Megatron ... Hill? ... Pettigrew?

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:06 PM

Votto should not win the MVP after grounding into that double play...just kidding, of course

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:06 PM

Kevin: Just saw Votto's 4-6-3. He IS much better vs. RHPs, but still. Yuck.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:07 PM

Hill, Best, Megatron, and the defense.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:07 PM

Smith has the Niners moving here. Maybe I get my INT on this drive.

Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 10 at 01:08 PM

I think it has to be worse to root for the Bills because at least the 49ers take their shiny new toys out of the box and play with them. Crabtree caught like 6 passes two days after signing his contract. Has Spiller caught 6 passes this season? Granted the expectations were a lot lower in Buffalo, but that's small comfort (to me anyway). If my team is going to suck, I at least want them to not hire a moron for a coach, somehow acquire a functional NFL quarterback, and give the ball to the players they draft.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:08 PM

Kevin: Again, in a second context, yuck. But you look like a genius.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:11 PM

Andy: It's worse than anyone realizes. I'm certain we'll draft Mallett, too - he's terrible but in a perfectly anti-Edwards kind of way: big arm, no brain. So we'll still be losing like this in 2013, 2014 ...

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:13 PM

... but I'm determined to earn my stripes. Having come to Bills fandom relatively late in life - I'm 34, which might actually make me the youngest Bills fan - I'm sticking with the team no matter where I move next. I'm a Bill for life. In one sense, at least, that has to be the key to living a long life.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:13 PM

It'll seem long, anyway.

Posted by ANDY RICHARDSON | Oct. 10 at 01:14 PM

Elsewhere on this page I scoffed at the idea of starting LeSean McCoy. "I won't start a running back with a broken rib!" I huffed. Just shows to go you.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:15 PM

OK, so we're at 24-17 PHI with 6:18 left, and McCoy just fumbled but the Eagles recovered. Almost - almost - set up for an exciting finish. No such luck for me in prime time.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:16 PM

Andy: And on the road, against what was - I swear! I saw it! - a tough D once upon a time. I just don't get this season.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:17 PM

looks like I am going to be 35 yards shy or so.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:19 PM

How old is Takeo Spikes? He and I were in college at the same time - and I know this because one of my roommates thought his first name was Tequila, and we never corrected him because we all thought it was funny.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:20 PM

gotta love Ted Ginn Jr...at least for return yardage anyway...LOL

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:21 PM

Kevin: I'd gladly trade my 700-some yards for your 965. This week, I'd also trade the Queens' whole roster for the Thoroughbreds'.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:23 PM

I'm only a genius in theory.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:23 PM

Uh-oh. Dear Cris Collinsworth: Smart people do not use the word "intelligent." Morons do, because it has four syllables and they think it makes them sound smart. Try asking the dumbest people you know - or Jay Cutler - to describe themselves; at least 60% of them will go to "intelligent" straightaway. You're better than this, Collinsworth.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:25 PM

Alex Smith is playing well now; go figure. He did this earlier in the year in prime time, too. If you're not watching anymore, PHI tacked on a field goal to make it 27-17, and now Smith has the Niners at the 1 looking for 27-24. Guaranteed: Philadelphia will win this game.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:26 PM

I was on the verge of dropping Gore until that play...again, kidding of course, but I'm close in any event.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:27 PM

Swing to Gore; there's your TD with 2:02 left. I don't understand how Smith can be so bad and so good at different points in the same game with such frequency.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:28 PM

At the risk of jinxing myself again...Shiancoe could not possibly get 60 receiving yards or a TD tomorrow? Could he?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:31 PM

Kevin: Tell you what. Keller can get 60 yards and 2 TDs tomorrow and the Queens will still lose; we need 19 points. I'll root for yours if you'll root for mine.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:35 PM

If you aren't watching, you just missed a bizarre sequence. On second down McCoy juked into a little room, ran toward a pack of defenders and slid down shy of the first-down marker to protect the ball. SF gets its timeout with more than 1:30 remaining. 3rd & 2: incomplete. So McCoy's choice to protect the ball (or whatever he was thinking) rather than fight for the first down looms HUGE. Niners have the ball now, post-punt, just more than a minute left ...

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:36 PM

V.D. across the middle, first down at the PHI 44.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:37 PM

1st & 10: Smith pressured, can't get the ball to Gore with nothing but green in front of him.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:38 PM

2nd & 10: Nothing open. Smith misses Gore down the sideline.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:38 PM

3rd & 10: Duck, intercepted!

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:38 PM

But a flag!

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:39 PM

But it's holding on the Niners, declined, game over.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:40 PM

My Bills have the same record as these Niners. Pathetic. Useless. Why do we bother watching this sport?

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:40 PM

And on that note, I suppose, I bid you good evening.

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:43 PM

I'll be back here tomorrow night for MIN-NYJ. Or you could save yourself the blah, go see a movie or something. Kevin: Better luck next postseason for your Reds. The rest of you: Don't look back in anger. Or something like that. Goodnight.

Posted by KEVIN DALLAS | Oct. 10 at 01:44 PM

You are probably off of here, but to answer your question...DEAL!!

Posted by JUSTIN ELEFF | Oct. 10 at 01:45 PM

Hey, and, again, R.I.P. Solomon Burke. The world is poorer without him.