SSOG
Moderator
The Claim: Mike Anderson would be a top 10 RB from weeks 3 through the end of the fantasy season (aka a "stud"). He would also remain a starter for that entire span, and would not lose his job for any reason other than injury.
The Result: Mike Anderson finished as the 8th ranked RB in the NFL from weeks 3-16, scoring 14 points per contest, averaging 81 yards and a score per game (off of my projected pace of 100 yards and a score per game).
The Saga:
Training Camps:
"I know I'm in the minority, but I actually think Anderson has a great chance of finishing the year as a better value. Denver's blocking scheme seems to be tailor-made for a big strong RB with vision (like Terrell Davis or Maurice Clarett), which is Anderson, not Bell."
-SSoG, July 29th
"I think everyone's is absolutely blowing off Anderson's chances when, in reality, his style is more suited for the offense, his blocking is much better than Bell's (which is important to Shanny), and his hands are a heckuvalot better, too. I have no problems taking this guy in the 14th, because I expect there's a much better chance of him starting than most people believe."
-SSoG, August 2nd
Preseason:
"Anyway, that entire rant aside, Bell has no value in my mind. He never did. He's a 3rd round pick, and I give him less than even odds of winning the starting job. Anderson, on the other hand, is still a steal in the 7th/8th round. He was highway robbery in the 15th, but people are wising up and I'm not able to pull that heist off anymore. Forget Bell entirely, just pick up Anderson. He's got better than even odds of being a top 15 RB. Not bad for a 7th rounder.
"Basically, this job is Anderson's until he does something to give it away. Bell can't overtake him at this point, and I seriously doubt he'll win the job in the middle of the season unless Anderson just ceases being effective.
Besides, here's the one question that Bell supporters just can't answer. If he didn't outperform Mike Anderson in training camps, and he didn't outperform him in the preseason, why is everyone so darn confident he'll outperform him during the regular season?"
-SSoG, August 27th
"If I were drafting in a vaccuum, I would have no compunction against pulling the trigger on Mike in the second round. He answered whatever lingering questions I might have had tonight."
-SSoG, August 28th
"Trust me. I'm absolutely, positively, 100% sure that Anderson is THE GUY in Denver until he gets injured or strings together maybe 3-4 bad games in a row."
-SSoG, September 7th
In Season
"For those who do not own Anderson, Bell, or Dayne, and who want to get a piece of them, target next week as the perfect "buy low" time. Two straight games against the 3-4, two straight below-average Denver running games. Plant some seeds about how Denver's O-line is aging and falling apart, remind everyone that Alex Gibbs, their world-famous O-line coach who made them so good in the first place, left for Atlanta last season. Point out that Atlanta was #1 in rushing last year, so he really was as good as advertised. Let everyone else connect the dots on their own, and then be the first to capitalize and take the Denver running game off of its panicking owner's hands."
-SSoG, September 15th, after a poor week 1 showing by Denver's running game
"Does Mike Anderson have the #1 job all locked up?
In a word: YES!!!!
In three words: YES YES YES!!!!!
In 18 words (and a hyphen): There's a reason why I was telling everyone that he would be a perfect buy-low candidate this week."
-SSoG, September 19th, after Anderson performed poorly in week 2 (as predicted)
"ANDERSON IS THE BEST RB IN DENVER. He proved that TIME AND TIME AGAIN in training camps, he proved that TIME AND TIME AGAIN in the preseason, and he is NOT going to lose that distinction because Ron Dayne had some nice yardage on ONE HALF OF ONE DRIVE IN ONE GAME.
It's like banging my head against a brick wall in here.
"
-SSoG, September 19th
"Could I be wrong? Of course I could, I'm not more infallible than the next guy, but... everything I've seen, and everything I've heard, and everything I know about Denver leads me to one possible conclusion, and I'm going to back that conclusion until it's clear that I'm wrong. Anderson is THE MAN in Denver until he can't be anymore."
-SSoG, September 19th
"I knew that Dayne/Bell would get carries to spell Anderson. None of that is a surprise. If Denver's rushing attack turns into a full-blown RBBC (no RB getting 20+ carries a game or 60+% of the carries), you can color me shocked. However, Denver's RBs have run for 455, and 472 carries over the past 2 seasons. If Denver rushes for 450 carries this season, and Anderson gets 20 carries a game from here on out, he still gets 299 carries... that still leaves 151 carries (33%) up for grabs."
-SSoG, September 20th (Color me shocked. What, did you think I'd just sweep all the times I was wrong under the rug?)
"Why is this situation so impossible to predict? What am I missing? I mean, we can make predictions about every single rushing situation in the NFL except Denver? Why's that?
And if it turns out in the end that I was right, are you all just going to tell me that it was just another lucky guess?"
-SSoG, September 21st
In response to who is the best buy low candidate: "Mike Anderson. In my opinion, he's a top 10 RB for as long as he's the starter, and I haven't seen anything to make me question his status as a starter. Meanwhile, he could be had for someone like Andre Johnson right now. Absolute steal."
-SSoG, September 22nd
"Volatile, Volatile, Volatile. That's all I keep hearing about Denver, despite the fact that the coach has clearly committed to a starter."
-SSoG, September 22nd
"Alright, fine, I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version. Mike Anderson is still the starting RB in Denver. The starting RB in Denver is still a stud. Wake me when either of those two claims is no longer true."
-SSoG, October 11th
"All it would take is 1 game. If Tatum Bell gets the starting nod over Mike Anderson when Mike Anderson is fully healthy, then I will gladly back off of all of my claims and post in giant red letters that I was wrong all along. All Tatum Bell needs to do is start one game. Just one... measly... little... game."
-SSoG, October 12th
"My definition of "stud" is a top 10 RB. And do I think Anderson can average 100 yards and a score for the rest of the season? Absolutely."
-SSoG, October 12th
"I believe the carries will continue to be split. I think Bell is in line for 12-15 carries a week, and Anderson's going to be getting the rest. When Denver runs 40 times, like against Jax, that gives Anderson 25 touches and Bell 15. When Denver runs 25 times, like against Washington, that gives both Bell and Anderson 12/13. When Denver runs 30 times, like against New England, then it's Anderson 17, Bell 13, or something to that effect."
-SSoG, October 21st (I finally scaled up my projections for Bell's carries, because like I said, even I get it wrong sometimes).
"As long as Bell keeps averaging 10 yards per carry, he's going to be a stud.
You can decide for yourself how likely it is that Bell will keep averaging 10 yards per carry. Personally, I don't think it's very likely at all."
-SSoG, October 22nd
"I'm standing by my projection. Again, at the end of the season, I'll post the final results and either do some well-deserved gloating (VERY well-deserved, in fact), or I'll admit that I was way off base and submit myself for public ridicule, allowing them to hang me in a cage and feed me nothing but bread and vinegar and encourage the townspeople to come and poke me with sharp sticks before they drag my half-dead carcass through the streets of the city behind a chariot and finally, string me up and hang me from a gallows until I am dead.
Well, I'll at least submit myself for public ridicule. I suppose that will have to satisfy you all, unless someone knows where we can rent a chariot."
-SSoG, November 24th
The naysayers:
The Result: Mike Anderson finished as the 8th ranked RB in the NFL from weeks 3-16, scoring 14 points per contest, averaging 81 yards and a score per game (off of my projected pace of 100 yards and a score per game).
The Saga:
Training Camps:
"I know I'm in the minority, but I actually think Anderson has a great chance of finishing the year as a better value. Denver's blocking scheme seems to be tailor-made for a big strong RB with vision (like Terrell Davis or Maurice Clarett), which is Anderson, not Bell."
-SSoG, July 29th
"I think everyone's is absolutely blowing off Anderson's chances when, in reality, his style is more suited for the offense, his blocking is much better than Bell's (which is important to Shanny), and his hands are a heckuvalot better, too. I have no problems taking this guy in the 14th, because I expect there's a much better chance of him starting than most people believe."
-SSoG, August 2nd
Preseason:
"Anyway, that entire rant aside, Bell has no value in my mind. He never did. He's a 3rd round pick, and I give him less than even odds of winning the starting job. Anderson, on the other hand, is still a steal in the 7th/8th round. He was highway robbery in the 15th, but people are wising up and I'm not able to pull that heist off anymore. Forget Bell entirely, just pick up Anderson. He's got better than even odds of being a top 15 RB. Not bad for a 7th rounder.
"Basically, this job is Anderson's until he does something to give it away. Bell can't overtake him at this point, and I seriously doubt he'll win the job in the middle of the season unless Anderson just ceases being effective.
Besides, here's the one question that Bell supporters just can't answer. If he didn't outperform Mike Anderson in training camps, and he didn't outperform him in the preseason, why is everyone so darn confident he'll outperform him during the regular season?"
-SSoG, August 27th
"If I were drafting in a vaccuum, I would have no compunction against pulling the trigger on Mike in the second round. He answered whatever lingering questions I might have had tonight."
-SSoG, August 28th
"Trust me. I'm absolutely, positively, 100% sure that Anderson is THE GUY in Denver until he gets injured or strings together maybe 3-4 bad games in a row."
-SSoG, September 7th
In Season
"For those who do not own Anderson, Bell, or Dayne, and who want to get a piece of them, target next week as the perfect "buy low" time. Two straight games against the 3-4, two straight below-average Denver running games. Plant some seeds about how Denver's O-line is aging and falling apart, remind everyone that Alex Gibbs, their world-famous O-line coach who made them so good in the first place, left for Atlanta last season. Point out that Atlanta was #1 in rushing last year, so he really was as good as advertised. Let everyone else connect the dots on their own, and then be the first to capitalize and take the Denver running game off of its panicking owner's hands."
-SSoG, September 15th, after a poor week 1 showing by Denver's running game
"Does Mike Anderson have the #1 job all locked up?
In a word: YES!!!!
In three words: YES YES YES!!!!!
In 18 words (and a hyphen): There's a reason why I was telling everyone that he would be a perfect buy-low candidate this week."
-SSoG, September 19th, after Anderson performed poorly in week 2 (as predicted)
"ANDERSON IS THE BEST RB IN DENVER. He proved that TIME AND TIME AGAIN in training camps, he proved that TIME AND TIME AGAIN in the preseason, and he is NOT going to lose that distinction because Ron Dayne had some nice yardage on ONE HALF OF ONE DRIVE IN ONE GAME.
It's like banging my head against a brick wall in here.

-SSoG, September 19th
"Could I be wrong? Of course I could, I'm not more infallible than the next guy, but... everything I've seen, and everything I've heard, and everything I know about Denver leads me to one possible conclusion, and I'm going to back that conclusion until it's clear that I'm wrong. Anderson is THE MAN in Denver until he can't be anymore."
-SSoG, September 19th
"I knew that Dayne/Bell would get carries to spell Anderson. None of that is a surprise. If Denver's rushing attack turns into a full-blown RBBC (no RB getting 20+ carries a game or 60+% of the carries), you can color me shocked. However, Denver's RBs have run for 455, and 472 carries over the past 2 seasons. If Denver rushes for 450 carries this season, and Anderson gets 20 carries a game from here on out, he still gets 299 carries... that still leaves 151 carries (33%) up for grabs."
-SSoG, September 20th (Color me shocked. What, did you think I'd just sweep all the times I was wrong under the rug?)
"Why is this situation so impossible to predict? What am I missing? I mean, we can make predictions about every single rushing situation in the NFL except Denver? Why's that?
And if it turns out in the end that I was right, are you all just going to tell me that it was just another lucky guess?"
-SSoG, September 21st
In response to who is the best buy low candidate: "Mike Anderson. In my opinion, he's a top 10 RB for as long as he's the starter, and I haven't seen anything to make me question his status as a starter. Meanwhile, he could be had for someone like Andre Johnson right now. Absolute steal."
-SSoG, September 22nd
"Volatile, Volatile, Volatile. That's all I keep hearing about Denver, despite the fact that the coach has clearly committed to a starter."
-SSoG, September 22nd
"Alright, fine, I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version. Mike Anderson is still the starting RB in Denver. The starting RB in Denver is still a stud. Wake me when either of those two claims is no longer true."
-SSoG, October 11th
"All it would take is 1 game. If Tatum Bell gets the starting nod over Mike Anderson when Mike Anderson is fully healthy, then I will gladly back off of all of my claims and post in giant red letters that I was wrong all along. All Tatum Bell needs to do is start one game. Just one... measly... little... game."
-SSoG, October 12th
"My definition of "stud" is a top 10 RB. And do I think Anderson can average 100 yards and a score for the rest of the season? Absolutely."
-SSoG, October 12th
"I believe the carries will continue to be split. I think Bell is in line for 12-15 carries a week, and Anderson's going to be getting the rest. When Denver runs 40 times, like against Jax, that gives Anderson 25 touches and Bell 15. When Denver runs 25 times, like against Washington, that gives both Bell and Anderson 12/13. When Denver runs 30 times, like against New England, then it's Anderson 17, Bell 13, or something to that effect."
-SSoG, October 21st (I finally scaled up my projections for Bell's carries, because like I said, even I get it wrong sometimes).
"As long as Bell keeps averaging 10 yards per carry, he's going to be a stud.
You can decide for yourself how likely it is that Bell will keep averaging 10 yards per carry. Personally, I don't think it's very likely at all."
-SSoG, October 22nd
"I'm standing by my projection. Again, at the end of the season, I'll post the final results and either do some well-deserved gloating (VERY well-deserved, in fact), or I'll admit that I was way off base and submit myself for public ridicule, allowing them to hang me in a cage and feed me nothing but bread and vinegar and encourage the townspeople to come and poke me with sharp sticks before they drag my half-dead carcass through the streets of the city behind a chariot and finally, string me up and hang me from a gallows until I am dead.
Well, I'll at least submit myself for public ridicule. I suppose that will have to satisfy you all, unless someone knows where we can rent a chariot."
-SSoG, November 24th
The naysayers:
Anyone who claims to know anything about the Denver RB situation is an idiot.
Anderson looked pretty good against KC' date=' but I believe his lack of quickness will eventually cost him the feature back role. I'll give SSOG & Anderson their due props if Mikey remains Denver's RB1 the rest of the season (I won't consider losing his job to injury a failure).[/quote']I doubt Bell starts 100% this year but I bet by years end as long as Bell is healthy the split is 75/25 in favor of Bell.. Anderson is done dude.. Bell is ripping off the yards and Anderson has been 3.1 and 3.8 vs the same D.. Spin it as a postive or say they put Anderson in to get the tough yards as too why it's lower. I don't care but you are like Fridayfrenzy.. Won't admit that you are wrong.. Maybe a lot of sites that had Bell so early were right???? Keep pimping a dead horse dude..
Anyone see SSOG?' date=' Noticeably absent after the DEN game. Just curious to see if he'll show up & admit that he could be wrong after he so empatically stated how the DEN RB situation was going to shake out for the rest of the year, and told anyone who thought the situation was still undecipherable and had the temerity to disagree with him how wrong they were...I'm curious to see if SSOG will sack up after his posturing about his allegedly superior knowledge about DEN RBs and the way he has roundly dismissed all other opinions despite so much evidence to the contrary to his claims.[/quote']
It is time for him to subject himself to the public ridicule he said he would in his sig
SSOG' date=' your main premise was that Mike Anderson is the guy in Denver barring injury. That appears not to be the case. Case closed.[/quote']SSOG: What is your definition of "stud"? Top 5? Top 10? For Anderson to reach the top 10' date=' he would have to score four more points per game than he currently is. To reach the top 5' date=' seven more points per game. Are you predicting that Anderson, in the remaining 11 games, will average 16 points per game? 100 yards and a TD, as an average? If he did so, certainly he would be a stud, but considering that he's done that only once in five weeks, and then only barely, it would seem pretty optimistic on your part to suggest that as an average.[/quote'']Don't let the facts get in the way of the truth dip####Mike Anderson has done nothing in FF for many' date=' many years- you haven't come up with anything that refutes that. Bell will get the job sooner or later , u stupid MA owner...
...Oh BTW, SSOG is a idiot and should refrain from posting.[/quote']
He (SSoG) is a blinders wearing homerHe (Anderson) has sucked for so long and has never started more than 12 games......Let's see if MA continues to be a "stud" LOL