So one of the struggles I have as a fat guy is not only self image problem but an issue with overeating.
When I'm bored, I eat.
When I'm stressed, I eat. ?Heck, when I drive, I eat.
I have food hidden in every place I frequent a lot: the office of my full time job, the drawer of my desk in the newsroom (which my co-workers have figured out) and even the glove box of my car.
But lynch pin for me? Pizza.
I don't store it anywhere but go to a restaurant with a pizza buffet and I'm in trouble.
I used to argue that it was because I was paying $7 for a meal and needed to get my money's worth.
But what about Tuesday night? What happened there?
I was at Pisanello's in Bucyrus for an area sports writers talk show headed by Davey Jones of the Friday Night Phone Board fame on WQEL 92.7 to discuss the North Central Ohio region's playoff picture.
Davey is always generous to his guests, buying dinner for taking time out of our schedule.
They have a nice buffet with all kinds of goodies but the final tally for me: three pieces of pizza, two sections of a sub, a bowl of chili, two brownies and a cup of ice cream.
The fantasy football landscape can be a lot like that: lots of options but few of those things are going to be paying dividends down the road for you.
Another weekend of football and another full injury report. While the NFL is a violent game, I believe many of this year's ailments have more to do with the fact the NFL offseason was spent in hotel meeting rooms and not in minicamps and offseason conditioning.
The preseason is there in part to evaluate the talent but in large part to get the guys in physical condition to handle the grueling five-month season. A fine example: hamstring injuries, and there are plenty this year (See Peyton Hillis, for starters).
With the injury bug biting big over the weekend, let's look at the injuries and the potential replacements.
We'll start with Tim Hightower, who came into the year as a sleeper in fantasy, but has been victim to Mike Shanahan's "now you're my starter, now you're not" mentality. And now he's a victim of a torn ACL and done for the year. For Ryan Torain owners and now Roy Helu owners, that's good news as it's one less head to feed the rushing monster. Helu stands to benefit the most. Last week he had the most snaps of any of the three and that shouldn't change at all with Hightower out. I still like Torain more, but he's been an injury concern since he started and that alone warrants Helu ownership.
Earnest Graham joined Hightower on the injured reserve this week, making his one week's worth of ownership useless. It very well may have been Graham's final appearance in the NFL as the 32-year-old running back injured his Achilles. The good news is that LeGarrette Blount should be returning next week after an extra week off with this week's bye. Owners of the Tampa Bay back would be wise to find a place to store Kregg Lumpkin in the meantime as he is the Bucs' lone healthy back at the moment.
No stranger to the training room, Beanie Wells is likely going to miss this weekend's game against the Ravens. Now I'm not running out and picking up Alphonso Smith to start against Baltimore unless I have no other options, but it's worth monitoring the Wells injury situation, as he has been known to miss chunks of time in the past. In Smith's limited action, he's been marginal at best, rushing for 89 yards and a score on 25 carries.
Speaking of former Ohio State stars who have been below average in the pros, Michael Jenkins has been this week's hot wide receiver pickup. Coming off a three-catch 111-yard game, including a touchdown, only time will tell if this is because Christian Ponder is the quarterback now or if it was a Torrey Smith-like blowup week. He was targeted eight times. One thing to keep in mind is that often rookie quarterbacks will find one target and settle on them. Look at A.J. Green and Andy Dalton in Cincy. The two have developed a nice relationship so far. Jenkins is worth a pickup. He's had three or more catches every week of the season but one and had a nine-catch performance against the Lions in week three.
Demaryius Thomas may be the one of the beneficiaries of the switch at quarterback with Tim Tebow and the trade of Brandon Lloyd. Thomas didn't start (Eric Decker and Eddie Royal did) but he had three catches for 27 yards and a touchdown. While that's nothing super notable, this number is: 10 targets, the most on the team. He should see more snaps going forward and has the potential to develop into Tebow's go-to guy.
A few other players of note to mention. In the least shocking news of the week, Matthew Stafford is hurt. It's about as shocking as saying Jahvid Best is hurt. Which is a lot like saying your car needs gas to operate. Now Stafford's injury doesn't seem to be as serious as his previous ones, but he's been injured every year of his career so far, so have a backup in mind. If you think Shaun Hill is going to put up the monster numbers Stafford has, think again. His numbers last year in Stafford's absence don't support that theory.
A hamstring injury has hamstrung Joseph Addai (see Stafford for shocking injuries) and the guy who will gladly take the chance to make an impact is Delone Carter. I liked Carter a lot this year going in because of Addai's inability to stay healthy. Carter's team was destroyed by the Saints last week, 62-7, but he proved to be the lone bright spot, scoring a touchdown on 10 carries for 89 yards.
I would be in remiss if I didn't mention DeMarco Murray. Yes he was awesome last week and the first Dallas back in three years to get 25 carries. But head coach Jason Garrett has said this week the days of Emmitt Smith and 30 carries a game are a thing of the past. If you're going to get a plate the Dallas Cowboys rushing buffet, you'll need to get a helping of Murray, Felix Jones and a side of Tashard Choice. And after eating all that roster space, you may just end up with a belly ache.
Aaron Korte is the A-T's fantasy sports writer and enabler of eating bad snacks in the newsroom. He can be reached with your fantasy football questions at akorte(at)advertiser-tribune(dot)com.
