This is why I hate fantasy football (1 Viewer)

[hotlanta]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??

Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

 

[Zoomanji]

No one likes a whiner

 

[PosterNutBag]

If it wasn't for the wind, I bet Mendenhall would have had a much better game. You were pwnd by the weather and the Brown's smart gameplan (that incorporated the wind) last night.

 

[Wilbur Wood]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

 

[milo66]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

There was a school of thought going into this game that the Steelers would be "really mad" about the Raider loss and take it out on the Browns. At the same time, there have been numerous rumors flying that Mangini had "lost the team" and that some Browns might tank it down the stretch. I would have thought that the Steeler D and Mendenhall would be prime plays. (I own neither, but I do own Santonio.)So what happens? The 1-11 Brown play like madmen and Super Bowl champs mail it in in front of a road crowd that contained a significant number of Steeler fans. Surprising.

 

[Addai's Adidas]

If you hate it so much you should just quit.

 

[p00h]

LOL. The WAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMBBBBUUUULAAAAANNNNCCCCCEEEEEE is on the way!

 

[Gunny]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

Could you please point me to your post stating this before the fact, or is this just another case of post-performance prognostication?

 

[VTjkru]

 

[DawgPoundNJ]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

It's not the first time an awful team, at home and in prime time, showed up.Go deeper than the numbers, friend.

 

[Phurfur]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

I noticed you didn't factor in the weather.I think you should retire; this hobby is too tough for you.

 

[Norseman]

It took 9 posts before we got the shirt, the shark pool is slipping.

 

[Magnum]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

Could you please point me to your post stating this before the fact, or is this just another case of post-performance prognostication?

 

[gandalas]

LOL. The WAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMBBBBUUUULAAAAANNNNCCCCCEEEEEE is on the way!

Seriously...I pay my yearly fee on here so I DON'T have to listen to x-box live-like 12 year old ranting....Can we get some mature discussion on here, pwweaseeee? As a browns fan, it seriously makes me irritated that they won last night. What the hell does 2 wins give us other than a drop from #1 overall draft pick to #4 spot currently?

 

[hotlanta]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

I noticed you didn't factor in the weather.I think you should retire; this hobby is too tough for you.

How would the weather last night have affected the running game? The Browns had no problem getting 171 yards on the ground.

 

[hotlanta]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??

Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

There was a school of thought going into this game that the Steelers would be "really mad" about the Raider loss and take it out on the Browns. At the same time, there have been numerous rumors flying that Mangini had "lost the team" and that some Browns might tank it down the stretch. I would have thought that the Steeler D and Mendenhall would be prime plays. (I own neither, but I do own Santonio

.)So what happens? The 1-11 Brown play like madmen and Super Bowl champs mail it in in front of a road crowd that contained a significant number of Steeler fans. Surprising.

This is *exactly* what I was thinking going into last night.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

Could you please point me to your post stating this before the fact, or is this just another case of post-performance prognostication?

Any shark worth his salt consults the Farmer's Almanac for future weather projections in all roster moves. Indications of severe weather in Cleveland for week 14 was a huge negative for all Steelers and Browns on my draft board this year, as I'm sure was the case for any serious FBG.

 

[TLEF316]

It took 9 posts before we got the shirt, the shark pool is slipping.

seriously. This should have been a lock for response # 1."Rashard Mendenhall laid a clunker:

 

[Phurfur]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

I noticed you didn't factor in the weather.I think you should retire; this hobby is too tough for you.

How would the weather last night have affected the running game? The Browns had no problem getting 171 yards on the ground.

The weather means it will not be a typical game. I would have started Mendenhall too only I would know the risk and I would not Whine about it after.

 

[urbanhack]

:stinker:

 

[domvin]

Let the guy vent, who cares.

Similarly, I plugged mendy in thinking he'd at least have a td a 100 yards rushing. Number of people to blame here ...... the o-line. No holes opened up, Ben running for his life, not to mention terrible playcalling by Arians. That organization basically has quit. The D played solid, besides the Josh Cribbs show.

Special teams coach needs to be axed quickly. Cribbs burned you in the first meeting, why let him do it again?

OC reins need to be pulled in--- calling pass plays in what was basically a windstorm.

Pitts is a finesse team now, ironically its the Bengals who are playing smashmouth football, and have a winning record???

 

[FFdork]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??

Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Maybe the venting thread should go up on Thursdays?This just in: in any given week and to a lesser degree over the season fantasy football is mostly luck, especially in your standard H2H format. The skill only becomes apparent in the long term. Most of us would have made the same move, so take your lumps and move on.

 

[My Hope Street Alias]

Let the guy vent, who cares.

Similarly, I plugged mendy in thinking he'd at least have a td a 100 yards rushing. Number of people to blame here ...... the o-line. No holes opened up, Ben running for his life, not to mention terrible playcalling by Arians. That organization basically has quit. The D played solid, besides the Josh Cribbs show.

Special teams coach needs to be axed quickly. Cribbs burned you in the first meeting, why let him do it again?

OC reins need to be pulled in--- calling pass plays in what was basically a windstorm.

Pitts is a finesse team now, ironically its the Bengals who are playing smashmouth football, and have a winning record???

This was addressed in the postgame. The HC said that the plan was to keep it away from Cribbs but the wind redirected some of the kicks.

 

[FavreCo]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

You got a championship caliber team assembled? 1 guy laying an egg shouldn't derail that. On the other hand if this is your big man, then just be glad you got this far.

 

[lion_crazz]

LOL. The WAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMBBBBUUUULAAAAANNNNCCCCCEEEEEE is on the way!

Seriously...I pay my yearly fee on here so I DON'T have to listen to x-box live-like 12 year old ranting....Can we get some mature discussion on here, pwweaseeee? As a browns fan, it seriously makes me irritated that they won last night. What the hell does 2 wins give us other than a drop from #1 overall draft pick to #4 spot currently?

Not to derail the thread... but seriously?? You're team just won against their biggest rival and you are upset because it sets them back a pick or two in the draft? The win gives the coaches a look at who they will bring back next year. Josh Cribbs looked awesome. Jennings looked decent. Some of the defenders really stepped up as well. Right now, they have the 3rd pick. Let's take a look at previous 3rd picks:2008: Matt Ryan2007: Joe Thomas (Jamarcus Russel #1)2006: Vince Young2004: Larry Fitzgerald2003: Andre Johnson2000: Chris Samuels (Courtney Brown #1)Pretty good players there, two of which were much better than the 1st pick, and a few others that may be better as well (Andre Johnson in 03, Carson Palmer was first.)

 

[mdlane]

IMO the regular season is mostly skill (although this year I saw a good team go down to SEVERE injury problems to every one of his skill players). The skilled players generally make it to the playoffs on a consistent basis. But once you're in the single elimination H2H playoffs, anything goes. At that point you just field the best team you can and hope for luck. In your case, Mendy still had 70+ yards and you still have a team of studs that got you this far.

 

[Malabar]

did anyone who responded in this thread think that Mendenhall WAS NOT a great start for this week? I sympathize with the guy, and he might have over reacted, but reality is Mendenhall had a great matchup and didnt deliver.

maybe some guys here don't know how it feels to be in fantasy playoffs.

 

[Cheesedawg]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

Could you please point me to your post stating this before the fact, or is this just another case of post-performance prognostication?

Any shark worth his salt consults the Farmer's Almanac for future weather projections in all roster moves. Indications of severe weather in Cleveland for week 14 was a huge negative for all Steelers and Browns on my draft board this year, as I'm sure was the case for any serious FBG.

Not only that, but Mendenhall was a particularly guppy play this week. Everybody knows he is in a Wednesday bowling league just across the border in WV. That league is well-known to be more about pitchers of beer and shots than actual bowling. Mendenhall normally doesn't even practice on Thursdays because he gets completely hammered the night before. Kid had no chance last night. Instead of whining, how about doing a little research??

 

[Da Guru]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

Cold weather site with bad conditions. A team in free fall that had just lost to the Raiders at home in good conditions the prior week.Mendenhall was at best a crapshoot.

Could you please point me to your post stating this before the fact, or is this just another case of post-performance prognostication?

Any shark worth his salt consults the Farmer's Almanac for future weather projections in all roster moves. Indications of severe weather in Cleveland for week 14 was a huge negative for all Steelers and Browns on my draft board this year, as I'm sure was the case for any serious FBG.

Not only that, but Mendenhall was a particularly guppy play this week. Everybody knows he is in a Wednesday bowling league just across the border in WV. That league is well-known to be more about pitchers of beer and shots than actual bowling. Mendenhall normally doesn't even practice on Thursdays because he gets completely hammered the night before. Kid had no chance last night. Instead of whining, how about doing a little research??

These little tidbits win you titles! I played Jenning last night instead of Mendy because I did some research and he had his best games in HS when the wind was over 30MPH.

 

[Morton Muffley]

Luck, variance...whatever you want to call it, FF has alot of it. I try to think of FF as akin to poker. Get in with the best of it and let the fates dictate the rest. I've been playing FF for ten years and my primary league is a ten-team league. Six teams make the playoffs...I've made the playoffs nine out of the ten years and won the championship twice. My best team ever (and the best team that year) was bounced in round one...but then one of my championship teams was relatively weak (thanks Drew Bennett and Billy Volek)...so over the long haul it all evens out. The trouble is most people don't take a long enough view of it. Imagine if you played one hand of poker every week...those bad beats would really sting wouldn't they?

 

[ATC1]

LOL. The WAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMBBBBUUUULAAAAANNNNCCCCCEEEEEE is on the way!

Seriously...I pay my yearly fee on here so I DON'T have to listen to x-box live-like 12 year old ranting....Can we get some mature discussion on here, pwweaseeee? As a browns fan, it seriously makes me irritated that they won last night. What the hell does 2 wins give us other than a drop from #1 overall draft pick to #4 spot currently?

A cheaper overrated player?

 

[EdwardCat]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

You got a championship caliber team assembled? 1 guy laying an egg shouldn't derail that. On the other hand if this is your big man, then just be glad you got this far.

Here is my thinking. Yeah, I got burned by Mendenhall like a lot of you did. However, a solid, balanced team can account for that. Who says the rest of your team won't go off and Mendenhall will be a distant memory come Tuesday morning? That's what I'm hoping for. I have a sour taste in my mouth after last night but it doesn't mean the end of my fantasy week by any means.

 

[Crusaderfan]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

You're just having one of those "why do I do this to myself" moments. I have them every once in awhile. Then I realize "What else do I have to do?".

 

[MIMN]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

I noticed you didn't factor in the weather.I think you should retire; this hobby is too tough for you.

How would the weather last night have affected the running game? The Browns had no problem getting 171 yards on the ground.

If you don't have to respect the pass you can focus on stopping the run. See Minnesota Vikings' opponents from 2008-09.I also started Mendenhall. Look at the positives:1. He put up "something" not a goose egg.2. You have the advantage of knowing about it when setting the rest of your lineup. If you are solid elsewhere you are fine. If not, you have a chance to play those "boom or bust" players that are a risk but might be needed to win this week.The problem is that your opponent might put in the safer bet players knowing what you got from a stud RB.Good luck with your games this weekend.

 

[Wu-banger]

If it wasn't for the wind, I bet Mendenhall would have had a much better game. You were pwnd by the weather and the Brown's smart gameplan (that incorporated the wind) last night.

That and the fact that the Steelers are one of the worst teams in the NFL right now.

and the fact they are a pass first team with no power running game... if they cant throw and teams dont have to respect the pas it is very hard for them to run. The O-Line is not good enough to line up and blow people off the ball.

 

[p00h]

did anyone who responded in this thread think that Mendenhall WAS NOT a great start for this week? I sympathize with the guy, and he might have over reacted, but reality is Mendenhall had a great matchup and didnt deliver. maybe some guys here don't know how it feels to be in fantasy playoffs.

i'm fairly confident 90% of the teams that own mendy started him. Of that 90%, I bet 20 had 2-3 studs ahead of him that they sat to start mendy, and the other 10% probably have mjd/CJ or some combo of the sort so didn't bother with mendy. Point being, this is FF. Hell LT can rip off 250 and 3 tds sunday, and ADP can drop a 30 yard clunker. If this stuff wasn't unpredictable to a certain extent, there would be no FF. Hell there wouldn't be any real football. Plug in numbers to a computer and get your outcome...

 

[MIMN]

did anyone who responded in this thread think that Mendenhall WAS NOT a great start for this week? I sympathize with the guy, and he might have over reacted, but reality is Mendenhall had a great matchup and didnt deliver. maybe some guys here don't know how it feels to be in fantasy playoffs.

i'm fairly confident 90% of the teams that own mendy started him. Of that 90%, I bet 20 had 2-3 studs ahead of him that they sat to start mendy, and the other 10% probably have mjd/CJ or some combo of the sort so didn't bother with mendy. Point being, this is FF. Hell LT can rip off 250 and 3 tds sunday, and ADP can drop a 30 yard clunker. If this stuff wasn't unpredictable to a certain extent, there would be no FF. Hell there wouldn't be any real football. Plug in numbers to a computer and get your outcome...

My league doesn't give points based on actual stats. We go off of the projections. It is more reliable that way.

 

[PosterNutBag]

If it wasn't for the wind, I bet Mendenhall would have had a much better game. You were pwnd by the weather and the Brown's smart gameplan (that incorporated the wind) last night.

That and the fact that the Steelers are one of the worst teams in the NFL right now.

and the fact they are a pass first team with no power running game... if they cant throw and teams dont have to respect the pas it is very hard for them to run. The O-Line is not good enough to line up and blow people off the ball.

That is exactly what I meant by my post (without elaborating). With the wind, the Browns DBs didn't have to respect the deep ball and it changed the game in a big way. Playing man to man worked out great since their front 4 was better than the Steelers OL. 8 sacks is ridiculous (although the 5th or 6th sack was basically BigBen getting tackled an inch behind the line of scrimmage -- but even 7 sacks is ridiculous). I also saw a stat during the game that said that the Steelers have more third down sacks against them than any team in the league. They apparently came into the game last night with 14 third down sacks given up on the season. 5 of the 8 last night (I just confirmed with the gamebook) were on third down, so that is 19 third down sacks on the season. The first 2 drives for the Steelers last night kind of set the tone for the entire game. On both drives they ran on 1st and 2nd down and then passed on 3rd & short only to get sacked both times. It wasn't until their 3rd drive of the game that BigBen finally had a pass attempt.

 

[billjohnson]

I planned ahead to the playoffs, I looked at the matchups, I saw Mendenhall was playing Cleveland in the first round. I thought hmmm...they are the worst run D and he should have a field day. Let me make sure I roster him and I did via trade. And then he goes out and puts up that kind of stinker? The same D that gave up 107 to Larry Johnson and 148 to Ryan Grant??Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

If you had REALLY planned ahead with some deep thought...you would have noticed that Rob Ryan's hair was getting crazier by the week....meaning he was completely giving up on personal appearance and focusing solely on defensive gameplans....further deducing that by week 14 he would be on to something. Also, would have weighed in the fact that mendenhall is an unproven guy down the stretch..always opening up the possibility of a bust situation.Bill

 

[cvnpoka]

the sacks are usually bens fault. also, teams are realizing that rather than lunging at ben, its better to keep him in the pocket and slowly collapse it. the line cant hold their blocks forever and ben holds the ball too long.

 

[PlasmaDogPlasma]

the sacks are usually bens fault. also, teams are realizing that rather than lunging at ben, its better to keep him in the pocket and slowly collapse it. the line cant hold their blocks forever and ben holds the ball too long.

I would say that most QBs in the league would have taken at least 6 sacks last night. Aaron Rodgers probably would have gotten to double-digits. The blocking was a joke and the Cleveland D was playing exceptional football. Folks that picked up and started the Cleveland D are loving fantasy football today.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

This game was a shocker. I could see the low points due to the weather but 8 sacks by Cleveland!? I didn't see that coming.

And no TDs at all for Pittsburgh?!? I thoght it might be a 1-2 TD game by them.

I think Mendenhall has been due for a big 2-3 TD, 100 yard game for a while and I thought this might be it.

Boy was I totally wrong.

That's the way it goes.

 

[EdwardCat]

This game was a shocker. I could see the low points due to the weather but 8 sacks by Cleveland!? I didn't see that coming.And no TDs at all for Pittsburgh?!? I thoght it might be a 1-2 TD game by them.I think Mendenhall has been due for a big 2-3 TD, 100 yard game for a while and I thought this might be it.Boy was I totally wrong.That's the way it goes.

No one saw this coming. If they say they did, they are fibbing. Pittsburgh seemed poised to have an okay game last night. There is no excuse for what happened. All things considered, Mendenhall and Holmes did okay. You also have to remember that they didn't rely on Mendenhall very much. He only got 17 touches. Considering the conditions, you'd expect a guy like him to get 25+ touches. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe there really wasn't a logical time to call another run play throughout the game.

 

[p00h]

This game was a shocker. I could see the low points due to the weather but 8 sacks by Cleveland!? I didn't see that coming.And no TDs at all for Pittsburgh?!? I thoght it might be a 1-2 TD game by them.I think Mendenhall has been due for a big 2-3 TD, 100 yard game for a while and I thought this might be it.Boy was I totally wrong.That's the way it goes.

No one saw this coming. If they say they did, they are fibbing. Pittsburgh seemed poised to have an okay game last night. There is no excuse for what happened. All things considered, Mendenhall and Holmes did okay. You also have to remember that they didn't rely on Mendenhall very much. He only got 17 touches. Considering the conditions, you'd expect a guy like him to get 25+ touches. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference. Maybe there really wasn't a logical time to call another run play throughout the game.

Much of the blame resides on the playcalling. Right off the bat, they were ripping off 4 and 5 yard runs. With that type of weather, you should be more inclined to run anyways, and play field position. They get to 3rd and 1, they call a pass. 12 yard loss. Next drive, 2 good 4-5 yard runs, 3rd and short, pass, sack. It went on and on and on like that throughout the game. THe playcalling was just terrible. Between Mendy and FWP, they should have ran the ball 35 times. ANd then givem MeMo another 10 carries. Cleveland D would have not only buckled, but would have had 10 less minutes of possession, and 10 less minutes that cribbs could have gouged them. Huge part of the blame resides on the playcalling, if not all. The Oline sucked, but if they ran the ball 40 times, that Oline would have done enough to squeak out a win. And I say all that not just as a bitter mendy owner. I've played FF long enough not to be bitter over something like that. But anyone with half a brain regarding actual football will agree they should have ran the ball more...

 

[DoubleG]

Sometimes guys get hurt after 1 play (think A. Gonzalez - week 1...and a host of others). As someone has already stated, regular season is more skill - amassing enough wins to make the playoffs...or get a first round bye, so that Mendy's crap night only hurts you in the total points prize area )

H2H playoffs can be a crapshoot. There are countless times during the regular season when player X goes up agianst team Y, which is normally horrible at defending z - and he has a horrid day anyway. Or a player lights up against a team that is normally good at stopping him. (Jason Campbell has had some of his best days against tougher pass defenses - Ced Benson lit up the Ravens for 120 and a TD in week 5, only to follow up against Houston for 44 rushing yards. Beanie Wells had 3 games of 70+ yards in each and 3 TDs in that span - then put up 20 yards on 8 carries against TENN) - it happens. The thing is during the regular season, you have time to bounce back - and your not always playing a good team, where every point matters. In the playoffs, you only need one horrible performance (or 2-3 below average ones) to bounce you - especially when your playing another good team.

Sometimes the best laid plans just turn into a pile of #### - but long term, things generally work out better for those that plan ahead and look at the big picture.

 

[WampusCat43]

LOL. The WAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMBBBBUUUULAAAAANNNNCCCCCEEEEEE is on the way!

Seriously...I pay my yearly fee on here so I DON'T have to listen to x-box live-like 12 year old ranting....Can we get some mature discussion on here, pwweaseeee?

As a browns fan, it seriously makes me irritated that they won last night. What the hell does 2 wins give us other than a drop from #1 overall draft pick to #4 spot currently?

You want to spend another $50M on Tim Couch?

 

[Todem]

IMO the regular season is mostly skill (although this year I saw a good team go down to SEVERE injury problems to every one of his skill players). The skilled players generally make it to the playoffs on a consistent basis. But once you're in the single elimination H2H playoffs, anything goes. At that point you just field the best team you can and hope for luck. In your case, Mendy still had 70+ yards and you still have a team of studs that got you this far.

Could not have said it better myself. Very good players are usually in the post season most of the time if the injury bug does not get them...after that...field your best lineup and hope.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Sorry for the rant, but sometimes I really do think this game is 90% luck.

It is about 90% luck, especially when we're talking playoffs.

 

[Jewell]

If you had REALLY planned ahead with some deep thought...you would have noticed that Rob Ryan's hair was getting crazier by the week....meaning he was completely giving up on personal appearance and focusing solely on defensive gameplans....further deducing that by week 14 he would be on to something.

:(

 

[Bri]

Mendenhall only had 3 100+ yard games and only 4 games with TDs in them. He wasn't the reason you made the playoffs I'm sure