Jim Joyce.
That's the lone case where I can think of a umpire or ref blowing a call that changed the outcome of a game.
And even in that case, it didn't change the outcome, just the status of the game. Instead of the Detroit Tigers' Armando Galarraga picking up the 21st perfect game in major league history, he finished with a 1-hit shutout of the Cleveland Indians. Joyce admitted he blew the call at first on what should have been the game's final out, calling Jason Donald safe after Galarraga had set down the first 26 batters in order. Trevor Crowe followed with a ground out to end the game.
But that's it.
Monday night's final play is not why the Packers lost that game. You could point to a variety of reasons. How about the fact Aaron Rodgers spent eight passing plays on his back as the Seahawks sacked him eight times? Or if the Packers convert their 2-point conversion on their final touchdown of the night, we're talking about an overtime game on Monday night and less about that call.
In my humble opinion (and I have so few of them), M.D. Jennings had the clear interception. But it doesn't change the fact the Packers had other chances to win that game. The refs didn't blow that game.
But you know who did blow it? People that drafted Chris Johnson. The Tennessee Titans back took the approach of blaming his offensive line for his problems and what happened? It resulted in his best rushing game of the year: 14 carries for 24 yards. Woo-hoo! Watch out Vegas.
Needless to say Mr. Johnson is not Barry Sanders, who also played behind an abysmal line but made his own holes in ways I don't know if we'll ever see again. But if you're a Johnson owner, you're not looking for more people to poke at your pick. You're looking for answers.
Well, the nice thing for Johnson owners is, he's not going anywhere. He's paid far too much money and will produce at some point.
But there are some real interesting running backs on the waiver wire this week. Hopefully you heeded my advice last week to pick up Mikel Leshoure. If you are a Kevin Smith owner, you should be very, very concerned. He was in the game last week but didn't touch the ball once and in overtime, it was Joique Bell was getting the action, not Smith. Make sure last week wasn't an aberration but you may be safe to dump him after this week.
One guy I like a lot is Ryan Williams of Arizona. The second year back from Virginia Tech stands to be a serious threat for the Cardinals offense. With Beanie Wells out until November with turf toe, Williams stands to get the brunt of the carries. Be warned, Williams hasn't exactly been a bastion of health himself, missing all of last year with an injury, but last week he rushed for 83 yards on 13 carries and added another 12 receiving. This is a team that prefers to run over pass so grab him quickly.
If you are a C.J. Spiller owner, your hot start came crashing back to earth last weekend with his shoulder injury and Tashard Choice came in and rushed for 91 yards on 20 tries. Choice is far from an elite back and he never lived up to his hype in Dallas, but if you're a Fred Jackson or Spiller owner, Choice is worth the pickup as the Bills line is showing that they will grade the road for whatever back is driving.
Speaking of guys not living up to their billing, Shonn Greene continues to be pedestrian. The Jets back had 19 carries for 40 yards, bringing his three week total to 157 yards on 57 carries. Meanwhile, his backup Bilel Powell has 88 yards on 22 carries and another 40 yards on three catches. While the Jets have said they're not demoting Greene yet, Powell stands to benefit if he continues to be more productive than Greene in the carries he does get. Another factor is that Joe McKnight, another guy who figured into the backfield picture, was moved to cornerback on Wednesday to convert him to a CB in the absence of Darrelle Revis. If you have the room, Powell would be worth stashing.
With Reggie Bush hurt with a knee injury, Daniel Thomas and Lamar Miller are looking at getting the spotlight in Miami. Thomas last week had 69 yards rushing and a touchdown in 19 carries while Miller had nine carries for 48 yards. The prior week, Miller had 65 yards and a score while Thomas had nothing. Unless you absolutely need a RB this week, you don't want either as they face a tough Cardinals defense, that has been one of the top defenses in the NFL (and subsequently, real high scoring in fantasy as well).
The hot wide receiver pickups this week are Ramses Barden of the Giants and Andrew Hawkins of the Bengals. While Barden had the bigger week (9 catches for 138 yards), Hawkins has had more "consistent production. Hawkins had 86 yards on eight catches in week one but just two catches in both week two and three. But he also had a score in each of those two-catch weeks. Barden, on the other hand, was a fill-in for the injured Hakeem Nicks last week and with Nicks slated to be back, he'll be back down the depth chart. Hawkins is in a slightly better position in that he's the No. 3 receiver, but the Bengals don't run a lot of three WR sets, as evidenced by Hawkins being in on only 30 of the Bengals' 60 offensive plays. You don't talk about handcuffs often at the wide receiver position, but if you're a Cruz or Nicks owner, you may want to stash Barden in case either goes down again and Eli Manning has proven he'll throw it to anybody in those spots.
Last but not least, Heath Miller is another hot pickup. The Steelers tight end, who has seemingly been around forever, has come out gangbusters with four touchdowns this year so far, including two last week. He's had 20 targets, 15 catches and 129 yards receiving.
Speaking of the Steelers, remember that bye weeks start this weekend with the Colts and Steelers getting the week off.
If much of America gets its way, these replacement refs will too.
Aaron Korte is the A-T's fantasy sports writer. When he's not taking referee certification classes, he can be reached at akorte@advertiser-tribune.com.
