Smack Zone — Football

[caption id="attachment_1109" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Enter the weekly Smack Apparel picks contest to win t-shirts! Share it with your friends and prove your superiority as a pigskin prognosticator![/caption] By Erez Ladetzky, Smack Zone Contributor So your fantasy team is off to a rough start. Or one of your star players is hurt and you need a replacement. Maybe you have succumbed to all of the daily fantasy commercials and have joined FanDuel or Draft Kings (I started FanDuel last season). Here is a list of 5 players either potentially on your waiver wire or who have good value every week in daily/weekly fantasy:

1. Karlos Williams, RB Buffalo Bills -- word out of Buffalo is Shady McCoy could very well miss this week’s game against the Giants. McCoy’s hamstring will probably linger on most of the year. Williams is coming off a 110 yard performance against Miami, including a highlight reel TD. Look for Williams and McCoy to split carries the rest of the way.

2. Devonta Freeman, RB Atlanta Falcons -- coming into the season, many people thought Atlanta would use their 3rd round draft pick Tevin Coleman more than Freeman. Last week Coleman injured his hip, and Freeman took advantage of the opportunity, scoring the most fantasy points this week with a 3 TD game against the Cowboys. Freeman is a very solid RB2/value pick in daily fantasy sports (DFS).

3. Tyrod Taylor, QB Buffalo Bills -- Taylor is available in a lot of leagues and definitely worth the pickup in case your starter has a tough matchup or is injured. Taylor has a great supporting cast around him with Mccoy, Williams, Watkins, Harvin and Clay. Not to mention he can run for yards and TD if necessary.

4. Darren Sproles, RB Philadelphia Eagles -- Sproles is Mr. Do it all for the Eagles. He runs, catches and returns punts/kicks. He is an excellent value play in DFS and allows you to take two high-priced WR or a high priced RB and WR. He might not play a lot of snaps, but the snaps he does play turn into fantasy gold.

5. Marvin Jones, WR Cincinnati Bengals -- teams have to start doubling A.J. Green. No team wants him to be the reason they get beat. Enter Marvin Jones. He had 94 yards and a TD against Baltimore this past weekend, and I expect him to be consistent the rest of the year. Dalton is playing his best football yet, and Jones should be the beneficiary of Green having a monster start to the season.

After you scroll through the waiver wire for these guys, enter the Smack Apparel Weekly Picks Contest to try and win free t-shirts! Here is a look at the NFL games you'll be picking: Jets at Dolphins: Miami is so bad this year, they are playing this “home” game in London so the fans won’t have to suffer. Vikings at Broncos: Manning was supposed to be too old and not strong enough to throw 20 yards this year. The 3-0 Broncos just don’t care. Packers at 49ers: Rodgers has 10 TD and 0 INT to start the season. Kaepernick is coming off a 4 INT game. Can the NFL enforce a mercy rule? Cowboys at Saints: Brees could be cleared for this game, but if not it will be a Sunday night showdown between back QBs Brandon Weeden and Luke McCown. Get your popcorn ready! Rams at Cardinals: Arizona is looking like the class of the NFC West, and someone forgot to tell St. Louis that after you beat Seattle week 1, you have 15 more games left. Chiefs at Bengals: the mighty Daltons are off to a scorching start. But then again, it’s not January yet. Panthers at Buccaneers: the first of many Newton vs. Winston matchups. Let’s see if the Bucs can win their first home game since 2013 and if they are "Carolina ready." Lions at Seahawks: this Monday night game might be over before it even starts. Eric Ebron still thinks the 0-3 Lions are a great team. Maybe he will change his mind after this game.    

By Erez Ladetzky, Smack Zone contributor Now is as good a time as any to take an early look at five under-the-radar teams that could influence the college football national championship playoffs:

1. UCLA – they came into the season ranked No. 13 and now have climbed up to No. 7. The Bruins are coming off back to back victories against BYU and at Arizona. The middle of October will show us if the Bruins are a contender or pretender. They face Stanford and Cal back to back weeks.

Why they will make it: The Bruins have one of the top defenses in the country and freshman QB Josh Rosen looks like the real deal. Why they won’t make it: You can never fully trust a freshman QB. Also, we don’t know if P. Diddy will get a hold of another kettle ball.

2. Georgia – the Bulldogs were the heavy preseason favorite to win the SEC East this year, and have not disappointed so far. They currently sit at No. 8 and have a big showdown against Alabama this Saturday. Nick Chubb is a Heisman frontrunner and with a victory against Bama, Georgia could run the table heading into the SEC Championship.

Why they will make it: Nick Chubb is one of the two top RBs in the country, and he can carry this team to the playoffs. Why they won’t make it: Because it’s Georgia and they always choke when the pressure is at its highest.

3. Utah – Utah was unranked to start the season, but an opening weekend win against the Michigan Harbaugh’s moved them up to No. 24. Last week, they absolutely destroyed Oregon on the road, 62-20, and have vaulted all the way up to No. 10. They are one of 4 teams to receive a first place vote in the AP poll.

Why they will make it: Everyone loves a Cinderella story, this will definitely be it. Why they won’t make it: The voters won’t let them in.

4. Clemson – the Tigers have faced a cupcake schedule so far, and have stayed at their preseason rank of No. 12. They have their first test of the year as they host #6 Notre Dame Saturday night. Clemson’s season always comes down to the showdown with FSU. Could this be the season that Clemson gets over the hump?

Why they will make it: Dabo Swinney is due. Why they won’t make it: Dabo Swinney actually isn’t due.

5. Oklahoma – the Sooners sit at No. 15 after a thrilling comeback win at Tennessee a couple weeks ago. Expectations are always high in Norman, even with TCU and Baylor stealing the thunder away from Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma faces TCU and Baylor in back to back weeks at the end of the season, that should determine the Big 12 champion.

Why they will make it:  Bob Stoops. Why they won’t make it: the last 3 weeks of their schedule.

[caption id="attachment_1153" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Ugh. The Packers. Amirite?[/caption] This is a recurring Smack Zone educational series focused on assisting fans to take down their rivals in a sports bar argument. We've hit the Yankees and the Patriots so far. Today, we turn our attention to the arrogant, obtuse, beer-and-bratwurst-addled, loyal, friendly, passionate, and intelligent fan base of the Green Bay Packers. Wait, what? Yeah, we're a bit torn on this one. Read on for an explanation.

_____________________

All right, it’s possible we’ve bitten off more cheddar here than we can chew. The Green Bay Packers are, after all, the Great American Sports Success Story. A little town at the mouth of the Fox River, perched on the lip of Lake Michigan, way up north in ‘Sconsin. A meat-packing town, a town of beer and bratwurst and large, Nordic traditions. Oh, by the way … Title Town. It’s true, you know. The Packers have won 15 league championships in their history, including 11 before the Super Bowl became the standard for greatness 50 years ago. And of course, there are those four Super Bowls – including the first two played. I mean, what can you say that’s bad about the Packers? The Packers are Lombardi, Starr, Favre, Reggie, Nitschke and Hornung. They are Lambeau Field, the Frozen Tundra, and tailgating for days. They are the little team that could in the little town that said, “You know what? We’re going to own this.” And they do own it – the public ownership structure of the Green Bay Packers is unique in major American sports. The people in the stands aren’t just fans, they’re team owners. Sort of. Green Bay is a real, nice place with real, nice people. A place where they love their football team so much, it’s more religion than sport. How can we possibly argue against that? Oh, I guess we’ll just have to give it our best shot, eh?

1. We’ll start with what remains one of the creepiest celebrations in sports, made even worse by its adoption in those Discount Double Check commercials:

2. It’s too damn cold. The average low temperature in Green Bay in January is 14. Enough said. [caption id="attachment_1156" align="aligncenter" width="300"] So, so cold. @Karen54301[/caption]
3. Cheese clothes.

Seriously?

4. Bratwurst kills. The average saturated fat content of an 85-gram bratwurst is 9 grams, 43 percent of the recommended daily intake of saturated fat. Furthermore, the average brat contains 65 milligrams of cholesterol and 720 milligrams of sodium. Basically, a bratwurst is an edible heart attack.

5. “Binge drinking is a sport in Wisconsin.” – Former Brown County Sheriff’s Office patrol captain. This is a serious problem. Seriously: Binge Drinking in State Still Far Exceeds U.S. Average

6. Anti-Packers Facebook pages also are a sport in Wisconsin: Green Bay Packers Suck, Anti-Green Bay Packers Memes, Official Anti-Green Bay Packers Fan Club.

Aw, hell. You know what? This is hopeless. The Packers are just too good, their fans too nice, their stadium too historic, their atmosphere too epic, their beer too cold, their food too tasty. We can’t do it. We can’t win an argument with a Packers fan. If only someone – SOMEONE – in the world could craft the ultimate anti-Packers tome. If only someone smarter and more handsome than us could eviscerate Packer Nation with well-honed prose and sublime video clips. If only someone could capture the pure, helpless angst that swept through the land of the Cheeseheads after last year’s NFC Championship Game collapse against the Seahawks. If only … wait. Oh. Oh, yeah. Thank you, Drew Magary. The world owes you a debt of gratitude. And a beer. Green Bay Packers: Why Your Team Sucks 2015. Case closed.

[caption id="attachment_1140" align="alignright" width="474"] The Jim McElwain Era at Florida is off to an auspicious start. The Gators are back in the AP top 25 for the first time since 2013, and are poised for a game with Ole Miss that has national title implications. Seems like old times ...[/caption]   By Erez Ladetzky, SMACK ZONE contributor After Florida’s wild, last-minute victory against Tennessee Saturday at the Swamp, the Gators have re-entered the AP poll as the No. 25 team for the first time since 2013. Making room for the Gators, Oregon dropped out of the AP for the first time since 2009 after getting whooped at home by Utah. The days of Tim Tebow leading the Gators to double-digit wins are over. Outside of All-America defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III, there are not too many potential first-round NFL picks on this Gators team. This team probably won’t win the national championship any time soon, but returning to relevance is the next step. That step was taken with a crazy victory over the Vols on Saturday. Tennessee did the most Tennessee thing possible, blew ANOTHER double-digit lead to lose a heartbreaking game. This time, the Vols had a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter and STILL managed to lose this game. Florida was set up with fourth and 13 with just under two minutes to go and down by 6. Not only did the Gators convert, they scored a TD on that play to take a 1 point lead. Vols coach Butch Jones is feeling the heat on his seat right about now. Tennessee drove the field to set themselves up for a last second field goal, and came inches away from ending UF’s dominance over them. Jones did a little, very brief, wishful thinking celebration when he thought the field goal was good. That was just kind of sad, actually. Florida heads into October undefeated, and facing a brutal schedule. Who thought Ole Miss-UF would have national championship implications? We sure didn’t. But next Saturday, Florida hosts Ole Miss in a battle of ranked, undefeated SEC teams. Ole Miss goes to Gainesville as the No. 3 team in the nation, and has playoffs on its mind. The Gators can make a huge statement with a victory Saturday. Not only will it help them gain confidence heading into the meat of their conference schedule, but it would be a story book start to the Jim McElwain era. Not too many people counted on Florida to play meaningful games in October this year, but that is what they will do. Another bonus for Florida: FSU dropped a spot in the AP poll to No. 11 after not playing last weekend. Not a bad day to be a Florida Gator. But just as a friendly reminder to the Gators that things can go South quickly in this game, here's a Vine clip of receiver C.J. Worton taking one off the gourd during Saturday's game:

Monday morning hits you like … https://t.co/F19YYmlo0r

— SB Nation (@SBNation) September 28, 2015

 

[caption id="attachment_1132" align="alignright" width="474"] OK, so with Big Ben out, it's up to Michael Vick to keep things rolling. One thing doesn't change, though: In Pittsburgh, 'Ravens' is a four-letter word.[/caption] It could have been worse. In fact, it LOOKED a lot worse. As Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger writhed on the field in the immediate aftermath of a tough hit on his left knee by Rams safety Mark Barron, it looked like Pittsburgh's season was about to go up in smoke. Even as Big Ben grimaced and shook his head on the sideline, the frightening reality that this was now Michael Vick's team for the duration was beginning to set in for Steelers fans. But, it wasn't as bad as first thought. Roethlisberger is only expected miss four-six weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL). So, while he'll miss out on Thursday's rivalry game against the 0-3 Baltimore Ravens, he could be back as soon as Nov. 1 against the surging Bengals. This is huge, because a glance at the final third of Pittsburgh's schedule is just plain scary for a Steelers team without Big Ben under center: at Seattle, Colts at home, at Bengals, Broncos at home, at Ravens, at Browns. They're going to need their talisman for those games. So, just as the injury could have been worse, so could the timing. Anyway, it's not a complete disaster for Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger has missed 16 games since his debut in 2004. The Steelers were 9-7 in those games. It will be up to Vick to keep it simple and let running backs DeAngelo Williams and Le'Veon Bell do their thing on the ground. If he can recapture a little bit of that old Vick glory -- as opposed to the ugly mess he brought to the Jets last year -- Pittsburgh just might be able to weather the next four-six weeks. Maybe.