Field Goal Agony

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It's the quietest moment in pro-football. The teams line up in field goal formation. The fans hold their breath, clench their fists, and pray. Here it is. It all comes down to this moment. [Timeout], the other team. Then they do it all over again. "And the kick is . . . ."

The result of a clutch field goal kick to win or tie a game can leave you in jubilation or agony. We've already seen some dramatic going-for-three in 2009 and NFL's week 6 ended with even more traumatic field goal kicking.

The Vikings lead the Ravens 27-10 going into the 4th quarter and then things got interesting. The Ravens' offense came out of hibernation and scored 3 TDs using their newly characteristic passing attack. Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason both grabbed passes for TDs and Ray Rice rushed for a 33 yard TD. The Vikings answered with 2 field goals in the 4th, which actually put them back in the lead 33-31 with just under 2 min left to go. Then the Ravens, who looked unstoppable up to this point, get all the way to the 34 and spike the ball with 2 sec left on the clock. It all came down to a 44 yard field goal for Steven Hauschka. Baltimore held their breath. The kick was just a bit too far to the left. Vikings win.

Another nail-biter in week 6 came down to clutch field goal kicking. The Jets' Jay Feely and Bills' Rian Lindell each missed field goals, which would have given their teams the lead and prevented the game going into overtime.

And then Monday night in San Diego, Nate Kaeding, who made a beautiful 50 yard kick earlier in the 3rd quarter, missed a 55 yard one to win the game. It was just a little to the left.

Should we blame it all on the kicker?

Jim Mora of the SEA Seahawks basted Olindo Mare after he went 4 for 6 in field goal kicks in a 25-19 loss to CHI earlier in the season. Is that fair?

Jim Mora is not the only one who downs kickers. Kickers don not typically hold the most respect in football. Some even consider the position to be completely separate, and in a lower class, from the rest of the game. Three-pointers are taken for granted. Perhaps because the kicker, who has perfected his skill, makes it look too easy sometimes. And perhaps because kickers are rarely involved in any contact in a sport that revolves around hitting people. What makes it worse for kicker is how terribly bad a missed field goal looks. It's like missing a dunk in basketball or running into another outfielder in baseball. It's a frustrating moment for a teams' fans and a laughable one for the opposing teams' fans.

After the Ravens loss to the Vikings the press spoke with Hauschka, who was emotionally rocked over the ending of the game. He said many of the Ravens came over to him after the miss and encouraged him that they will need him for a "big kick" later in the season. Those Ravens have the right attitude.

Kickers deserve more praise for what they do. Their position may not include tackling, blocking, or leaping into the air but it doesn't lack the pressure that all payers experience to win a game.

Fantasy MVP: Peyton Manning

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It's week 6 and roughly the middle of the fantasy football season. In my league the Baltimore Fantasy Football Gurus, which is considered to be a QB heavy league because passing TDs are awarded 6 pts instead of 4, Peyton Manning is the man. Shocker!

Peyton leads all positive QB stats except for rushing. He has: 1645 passing yards and 12 TDs, which equal 133 fantasy points in the BFFG. The Colts are on a bye this week then they face: STL, SF, HOU, and NE. These match ups are favorable for Peyton who has a good chance to continue carrying the torch the rest of the way. The NFL's MVP last year is campaigning to win the award again this year.

Peyton has been taken in the first round in the last 3 years of the BFFG. He should be a first round pick in every league. Payton's popularity in fantasy football will not change anytime soon because: the Colts win a lot of games, he never gets sacked, he barely makes mistakes, and throws the ball to anyone.

It doesn't matter who is on the receiving end for the Colts. Peyton will make them stars. Not only does Peyton continue to be a fantasy gem, he raises the stock of players he plays with. Pierre Garcon and Donald Brown are good examples of players on the rise, probably in the free agent pool at the beginning of the season, and now are must-pick-ups.

Should The Ravens Go For T.O.?

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Terrell Owens in Buffalo doesn't seem to be a good match. He has not generated any chemistry with the team and especially not with QB Trent Edwards. He has 202 receiving yards and 1 TD in 5 games, which are sub-par numbers for what is considered to be a top WR in the NFL.

The disappointing engagement has already generated some trade rumors, but what is the likelihood that T.O. will be traded? After watching how well Braylon Edwards contributed last night in his first game with the Jets, it's hard to doubt what NFL teams will do now in the middle of the season.

So who would be interested in acquiring T.O.? The Ravens?

The Ravens have already been burnt by T.O. before. The year he signed with the Eagles, T.O. was in talks with the Ravens but said he changed his mind because of their QB situation. What has changed since then is BAL has a new QB and a new head coach.

Joe Flacco's deep passing abilities and T.O.'s big play ability are connections that all parties would be interested in. Also, coach John Harbaugh has some familiarity with T.O. when they were both on the Eagles. The Ravens upcoming bye week would give them time to work T.O. in the offense.

Would acquiring T.O. help the Ravens? It's hard to say. Last year he had 69 catches for 1052 yards and 10 TDs for DAL. Those are numbers that BAL would be looking for if he came. The Ravens receiving core doesn't lack talent but does lack variety. The Ravens #3, and biggest receiver, is Kelly Washington who has 212 yards and 1 TD, which is ironically similar to T.O.'s #s. Acquiring T.O. in a package for Washington or their #4 WR Demetrius Williams would be an upgrade. Then the question becomes, "Will he behave?" Who knows? But the Ravens coaching staff and managing staff are no-nonsense dudes. It would only happen if T.O. convinced them that he wants to play like a Raven.

Fantasy Basketball

Fantasy basketball is near the last rung of exciting fantasy games. You would think all the excitement in the NBA should transcend into a great head-2-head fantasy league. It just doesn't seem to carry over well. Not that fantasy basketball is all bad. There's plenty of stats and players to support it, but it seems there is just something missing.

I once ran a fantasy basketball league called The Starting Five, which had a roster size of 10 and , yes, 5 starters. It was a head-2-head league that used the basic stat categories: PTS, REB, STL, AST, etc. I thought it was set up well but there was something missing. The league lacked a strategic approach to winning. It seemed you could just simply lock-in you best 5 players and run with it. Your chances of winning were almost the same if you just took auto pick in the draft and never made any changes to the starters.

I gave up on The Starting Five for a few years and joined public fantasy basketball leagues instead. I tried them all: head-2-head, rotisserie, and points style. I felt each of these had them same problem. There was just no strategy.

This year I'm hoping to revamp The Starting Five. I developed a simple and basic structure that I hope will make the league interresting. These are the key settings for the league:

League Size: 10-14

Scoring Type: Head-to-Head

Roster Positions: PG, G, PF, F, C, BN

Players Stat Categories: Free Throw Percentage (FT%), Points Scored (PTS), Total Rebounds (REB), Assists (AST), Steals (ST), Blocked Shots (BLK), Turnovers (TO)

Draft Type: Live Draft
Draft Time: Mon Oct 26 8:00pm EDT

Max Moves: No maximum
Max Trades: No maximum

Max Acquisitions per Week: 1

League ID#: 98337
League Name: THE STARTING 5
Password: fad5
Custom League URL: http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/thestartingfive

Hopefully things will start off on the right foot with a live online draft the night before the NBA season begins. Live drafts are fun and the timing is relevant.

I'm going with a roster size of 6 with the bench spot being the 6th man. With 10-14 teams in the league, this will leave the top NBA stars on managers teams. There will be plenty of familiarity on teams and also in the free agent pool.

It will go head-2head and stick with the basic stats that everyone can conjure.

The only restriction on moves will be the 1 acquisition per week setting. The idea hear is to allow managers to change players all they want but prevent a loop hole where you could change your team everyday and never have regular days off. I acquisition per week should still generate plenty of interactivity.

I included the league ID and Password above. The league is just-for-fun. No entry fee. If you read this and you are interested, please join.

Need a Wideout?

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There's good news this morning if you're in need of a WR on your fantasy team. Braylon Edwards is traded to the Jets and Michael Crabtree signs with the 49ers.

Braylon's stock should go up considerably playing for the Jets. Although the Jets are listed just below the Browns in passing offense, Braylon goes to a team that is doing much better overall and has no QB controversy. Mark Sanchez is the man for the Jets. Coach Rex Ryan seems to have Sanchez playing the same role as Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan did for their teams last year. If the Jets follow similar footsteps as the Ravens and Falcons you will see their offense improve very soon. The Jets obviously want to improve their in-the-air game and Braylon's talent should contribute a great deal.

Crabtree finally signs with the 49ers who are already off to a good start in their division: 3-1, and in 1st place. QB Shaun Hill is 11th in passing rank. There seems to be plenty of room for an offensive player on the team. Crabtree should contribute considerably. The 49ers and their fans are eager to see what their 1st round pick can do.

Its likely each of these players have been dropped in your league and are available. Their talent is deserving of top echelon picks in a fantasy draft but their situations have lowered their stock so far in 2009. Need a WR? Pick them up. Make sure to check game time status as each may not necessarily start this week but should be on the field catching balls very soon.

Rodgers Tonight.

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Coming down to this highly anticipated Monday Night Football game; Aaron Rodgers barely outscores Brett Favre in QB rating on the season. Their stats are almost neck-and-neck. The match up must really haunt Rodgers who can't evade constant comparisons to Favre.

Fantasy owners of Rodgers and Packers fans would love to see him come out and play a little angry in this game. If the Packers lose they would stay in 3rd place with plenty of season left to catch up, including a home game rematch with the Vikings on 11/1. So, if Rodgers can at least perform well tonight it'll calm down some scrutiny. Packers fans will lay-off. Fantasy owners will not hate themselves for their 3rd/4th round starting QB pick. As long as Rodgers puts up respectable numbers, all is good. Their schedule is favorable: DET and CLE in the next 2 weeks.

Hopefully you started all available players in this game. There's gonna be a lot of showing off and that's always good for fantasy points.