Northern California is home to some of the hottest summers in the world. I remember driving through the treeless foothills on the way to a mountain reprieve one late July afternoon, and the car thermostat read 127 degrees Fahrenheit. With three months of hot and dry conditions, with a constant north wind that would make the founder of Chapstick shudder in fear, it’s no wonder most people around here don’t use the sauna at the health club.
The only occasional relief comes from a whispering delta breeze from the Bay Area or if the sun is blotted out by wildfire smoke. All of this is still heaven on Earth compared to what our veterans experience when deployed in foreign conflicts.
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Fantasy Football Hot Takes: Week 10
My wife and I recently celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary. We chose November 4 as a date so as not to interfere with Veteran’s Day, even though it would have been incredible to say we got married on 11/11/11. Her two brothers were each just entering civilian life after serving in the Middle East for the Army and Air Force, respectively.
My father-in-law ran reconnaissance missions for the Marine Corps in Vietnam and paints some of the most horrifying stories imaginable if you ask him about it. He still wears clean, dry socks around the clock at age 75 because of the conditions he faced in the jungles of Southeast Asia sticking in his daily routine stateside. He has experienced napalm and Agent Orange, foxholes and rice paddies tinged in red.
Long before he battled me in fantasy football, my wife’s oldest brother enlisted in the Army as an 18-year-old late bloomer with peach fuzz on his face. By the end of basic training, he was a gaunt-but-game soldier with eyes on rising through the ranks as a military policeman. He served in Desert Storm, sharing stories of 130-degree days with no air conditioning and giant spiders that would share the barracks with the company.
His number came back up for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004. By then, he had risen to officer level. His armored convoy was ambushed one day, with rocket-propelled grenades whizzing overhead and one Humvee ripped apart by a roadside bomb. He ripped his velcro nameplate off his backpack in the chaos, not wanting his surname to become an insurgent’s memento. That nameplate was gifted to me on my wedding day, which followed the previous story and a threat: “Don’t tell my mom. She wouldn’t be able to handle that I almost died over there.”
Fantasy football is a reprieve. The game is enjoyed by the men and women serving across the globe and by those who have left that world behind. I don’t truly understand heat or pressure compared to the ones tasked with carrying out missions to keep us safely nestled with our families on Sunday afternoons, with Scott Hanson crooning those magic words. Be thankful to a veteran this weekend. None of this would be here without them.
Getting back to my preferred heat level, this column nods to an impending flip of the script as the season turns home. Week 10 is going to buck some trends. Players who have struggled to this point are destined to smash and leave the bad vibes behind. Once again, no mild takes allowed and no victory laps unless perfection is achieved. Let’s hit the home stretch toward the fantasy playoffs in style.
Fantasy Football Hot Takes
Tony Pollard Goes Ballistic on Big Blue and is a Top-5 RB in PPR; Cowboys Score More Touchdowns on Defense than Giants’ Offense
Since his Week 1 tirade over these Giants, Tony Pollard has looked like a shell of his former self. Truthfully, his drop in explosiveness has worried me (his most ardent supporter). The run blocking hasn’t been there due to various injuries across the line. Mike McCarthy’s play calling has been abysmal for Pollard, who has yet to parlay his myriad scoring opportunities into actual scores.
The levee breaks in Week 10. New York is terrible, and Dallas will be running the ball early and often. Will it be another 40-0 score this week? I surmise it could be in the same neighborhood with the Cowboys’ defense licking their chops at the chance to chase Tommy DeVito around. Another sneaky DFS pick is backup RB Rico Dowdle, who could see quite a bump in volume if it gets out of hand early.
Christian Kirk Goes for 100 Yards and Finds the End Zone Twice; Jaguars Win Their Sixth-Consecutive Game over Previously “Unbeatable” 49ers in Duval County
I’m sorry you all had to find out this way, but the 49ers are very overrated. This has been brought to everyone’s attention by their lackluster form in the midst of a three-game skid. Christian McCaffrey is amazing, but he can’t do it all. San Francisco welcomes back Deebo Samuel this week in hopes this losing streak could be attributed to his absence removing most of the layup throws that make Brock Purdy seem like a better QB than he is.
The real issue in San Francisco hasn’t been under center. Steve Wilks has been peering down from the coach’s box at uncharacteristic blown assignments and bad tackling. He is taking the stairs down to the sidelines to join his coworkers at field level this week against the red-hot Jaguars. I don’t expect this to change anything. Trevor Lawrence and his talented offense are rolling right now and should rip this secondary to pieces.
Geno Smith Has His Best Game of 2023 With 30 Fantasy Points; Seahawks Drop 40 Points on Commanders in Highest-Scoring Game of the Slate
Geno Smith is like Eiffel 65. He was nothing for years, then put out a one-hit wonder like “Blue (Da Ba Dee).” The Seahawks are hoping he can release some new music this season after the West Virginia grad has played very poorly to this point. The Commanders’ defense is ripe for the picking, but the Seattle offense has to find a ladder to pluck those juicy apples.
Sam Howell has been this season’s Geno Smith, turning in a handful of QB1 performances already. Neither defense has played well this year, so I expect fireworks in this one that benefit fantasy managers from all walks of life.
Bijan Robinson Manages 150 Scrimmage Yards on his Allotted Opportunities, But Cardinals Drown Falcons in the Red Sea Behind a Three-Touchdown Performance from Kyler Murray
Everyone hates Arthur Smith. The social media barbs and parodies have been incredible fodder for the angry mob that has gathered with torches and pitchforks. The one disappointment has been with the Atlanta media, which continues to fluff and lob open-ended questions at the babbling billionaire head coach. Where are the pointed questions, oozing with snark and ridicule? His handling of a literal prodigy at RB deserves Draconian consequences.
I have predicted Bijan Robinson breakout games before, but this might actually be it. The din has ramped up to a cacophony, and Smith is growing weary of talking in concentric circles at the postgame podium. Bijan is about to be seriously fed. As we all know, Robinson is unbelievably electric when given the opportunity and will end our dance with rain sticks shaking in the Arizona desert.
Injuries sometimes cause us to forget how great some players are. Kyler Murray was one of the best college QBs I’ve ever seen, combining elite mobility with unbelievable arm strength and accuracy. He even looked great in a Mickey Mouse Kliff Kingsbury offense. If you don’t believe K1 will look markedly better than Clayton Tune (and even Joshua Dobbs) in this new system, I don’t know what to tell you. He’s just so much better and will don a cape to keep the fraudulent Falcons in the losing column.
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