Heisman Highlight: Tom Harmon

Name: Tom Harmon
Position: Halfback
College: Michigan Wolverines
Class: Senior
Winning Year: 1940 – 6th Award
Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
 
 
 

Interesting Notes: Harmon was considered the greatest ball carrier in his day…was a prolific rusher, passer, kicker, and defender…served for four years as WWII pilot…played for L.A. Rams for two years…enjoyed a very successful broadcasting career…was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1954.

Featured Card: 1955 Topps All American #35. Similar to most other college greats of the pre-war era, the legendary Topps All American set serves as Harmon’s rookie and only major card release. Prices on eBay range from $9 to $100 and are mostly dependent upon condition and grade. An average copy will fall into a $50-$70 range.

NOTE: You can find all of my Heisman Highlight Features by clicking the post banner above.

Fantasy Focus: Week 11

As you gear up for this weekend’s upcoming games by realigning your fantasy rosters to optimize matchups, let’s take a quick look back at last week’s studs. (Note: Points listed are directly from the First and Goal Fantasy League and may not represent point totals in your individual leagues)

*Fantasy Stud of the Week*
QB: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions — Detroit and Cleveland in a shoot out?!? Detroit and Cleveland giving us one of the best games of the season?!? Holy crap! In a surprising game of breakouts for highly touted college QBs Matthew Stafford and Brady Quinn, Stafford ended the day on top. His 422 passing yards and rookie record-tying 5 TDs (something that hadn’t been done since 1937) helped lead the Lions to an exciting last minute victory. Despite his 2 interceptions, Stafford amassed 34 fantasy points, a dominate performance for any player, let alone a rookie quarterback. The most impressive part of his outing? Staying on the field and throwing the game winning touchdown with a separated shoulder. The kid’s got guts, that’s all I’m saying.

RB: Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins — When the Dolphins announced Ronnie Brown was out for the season, many thought the whole team was out for the season. Ricky Williams set out to prove them wrong. Rushing for 119 and 2 touchdowns, as well as picking up 19 receiving yards and another touchdown, Williams accumulated 30 fantasy points, best in the league amongst running backs in Week 11.

WR: Terrell Owens, Buffalo Bills — Trying to quiet some of his critics, Owens had a respectable performance in Week 11. Hauling in 9 receptions for 197 yards, including a team-record setting 98-yard touchdown, Owens picked up 25 fantasy points. While he may have helped some fantasy teams to victory, he still cannot find a way to lead Buffalo to a win. The Bills have now lost 3 straight and 6 of their last 8 games. Hopefully Owens will shut up and put up for a little while longer.

TE: Kevin Boss, New York Giants — A relative unknown in many circles, Boss has now been the league’s top fantasy tight end twice this season. By pulling in a personal-best 5 passing for 76 yards and 2 touchdowns, Boss scored 19 fantasy points in Week 11. He still may not be a consistent threat, but he is proving that he certainly deserves more attention moving forward.

K: Billy Cundiff, Baltimore Ravens — In his first game as a Raven, Cundiff did what none of his teammates were able to do in Week 11: score points. In the 17-15 loss to the Colts, Cundiff’s 5 field goals amounted to all of Baltimore’s offense. In fantasy leagues, he actually put up 17 points. Too bad the NFL doesn’t award bonus points for 40+ yard field goals like fantasy leagues do.

D/ST: New England Patriots — As a team that usually embarasses its opponents on the offensive side, this week the Patriots turned out a solid defensive performance. While only allowing 14 points and racking up 2 sacks, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, and 1 touchdown, the Patriots D scored 19 fantasy points, best in the league amongst defensive units.

ROOKIE: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions — See Above. This is the first time this season that a rookie topped his class and position. But Staford didn’t stop there. He also topped all fantasy performers and earned best rookie, best QB, AND Fantasy Stud of the Week.

Check back next week for another edition of Fantasy Focus as we recognize the week’s best fantasy performers. Best of luck to you in your respective fantasy football leagues!

Note: To quickly view all of my Fantasy Focus posts, simply click the Fantasy Focus banner at the top of any such post!

Brief Thoughts

Deep Thoughts would be far more entertaining, I realize, but for now, you just get brief thoughts. While I was between tasks, I quick checked my facebook home page and saw this update image:

Click image for a slightly larger view

This is a new image released for the highly anticipated 2009 SP Authentic. I have two “brief thoughts” on this image:

1) A new Emmitt card. Autographed. Cool.

2) Emmitt himself is almost completely hidden by some fake patch. Interesting.

That is all.

What? I said it would be brief.

HOF Spotlight: Otto Graham

Name: Otto Graham
Position: Quarterback
Pro Career: 1946 – 1955
Team Affiliation(s): Cleveland Browns
College: Northwestern
Induction Class: 1965

Brief Bio: Every great team needs a great leader. For the post-WWII Cleveland Browns, a team that won league or division titles in 10 straight years, Otto Graham was that great leader. A strong tailback in college, Graham was transformed into a T-formation field general when he became the very first player signed by the legendary Paul Brown as he formed his new team. After 4 hugely successful years in the AAFC, the Browns quieted all critics when the achieved the same success in the NFL starting in 1950. In Graham’s ten-year career, the Browns played in 10 straight championship games, winning 7 of those titles, and he was named first-team all-league quarterback 9 times.

Career Stats: 126 games played; 23,584 passing yards; 174 passing TDs; 882 rushing yards; 44 rushing TDs; 7 interceptions returned for 102 yards; 1 interception TD; 1 fumble recovery TD

Featured Card: 1950 Bowman #45. As the quarterback for one of the era’s most successful teams, it is no wonder Graham was included in this early NFL set. He had already been playing professional pigskin for a few years, but 1950 was his rookie season in a sense as it was his (and Browns organization’s) first year in the NFL after much success in the AAFC. Trivial Beckett value of this card is $450. While most eBay prices are below $300, there is one listed at a ridiculous $1,999.99. Even for a BVG 8.5, that is far too high in my book. If you are looking to add this card to your collection, you will need to spend a pretty penny, but do so wisely. Always look out for counterfeits and disreputable sellers.

NOTE: You can find all of my Hall Of Fame Spotlight Features by clicking the HOF Spotlight banner above.

Heisman Highlight: Nile Kinnick

Name: Nile Kinnick
Position: Halfback
College: Iowa Hawkeyes
Class: Senior
Winning Year: 1939 – 5th Award
Official Heisman Profile: Click Here
 
 
 

Interesting Notes: Kinnick is considered Iowa’s greatest player of all time…was a team leader in every facet of the game…gave an acceptance speech reflecting many Americans’ isolationist feelings regarding WWII…became a pilot in the Caribbean after graduating…crash landed his fighter in 1943 and disappeared forever…was elected to the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in 1951.

Featured Card: 1955 Topps All American #6. Never having a professional football career, Kinnick’s only true rookie card is found in this legendary college set. An eBay search shows the card can sell for anywhere from $20 to $100, with a majority having a listed price at right around $50.

NOTE: You can find all of my Heisman Highlight Features by clicking the post banner above.

Fantasy Focus: Week 10

As you gear up for this weekend’s upcoming games by realigning your fantasy rosters to optimize matchups, let’s take a quick look back at last week’s studs. (Note: Points listed are directly from the First and Goal Fantasy League and may not represent point totals in your individual leagues)

QB: Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts — In a game in which many had high expectations of Manning, he delivered in a big way. Completing 28 of 44 passes, Manning amassed 327 yards, thrusting himself into the league leader position for yards and putting him on pace to break Dan Marino’s single season passing record. Tacking on 4 touchdown tosses, Manning finished the day with 26 fantasy points, despite two interceptions. After many near misses, Manning was finally the top QB in Week 10.

*Fantasy Stud of the Week*
RB: Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans — Another week, another ridiculous performance from Johnson. In Week 10, Johnson accumulated 132 yards rushing, 100 yards receiving, and 2 rushing touchdowns. His 35 fantasy points marks the third time he has totaled 35+ points this season, as well as the third time he has received Fantasy Stud of the Week honors. There is a very high probability that Johnson will be the season’s overal Fantasy Stud.

WR: Randy Moss, New England Patriots — Just like Peyton Manning, Moss lived up to his hype in one of the season’s most anticipated games. Moss reeled in 9 receptions for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns. The strong performance was Moss’s fifth 100+ yard game and he currently leads all receivers with 891 yards. His 29 fantasy points in Week 10 were tops amongst wide receivers.

TE: Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles — In an overall underwhelming week for tight ends, Celek provided a bit of spark. Catching 6 passes for 47 yards and 1 touchdown, Celek finished the day with 10 points. While technically in a tie with Kellen Winslow, we gave Celek the nod for his touchdown, a stat rewarded in any fantasy format.

K: Connor Barth, Tamba Bay Buccaneers — On paper, Barth had a pretty good day. Kicking three fields and adding on 2 PATs is a pretty solid performance. Until you consider one thing, all three of his field goals were 50+ yards out. While some PKs were struggling beyond 35 yards, this guy was nailing 50+ yarders. His 17 points were the best amongst kickers in Week 10.

D/ST: Baltimore Ravens — Traditionally a defensive powerhouse (at least in recent memory), the Ravens defense held true to form in Week 10. Pitching a shutout as well as recording 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, and a touchdown, the Ravens scored 24 fantasy points, better than most offensive players last week.

ROOKIE: Beanie Wells, Arizona Cardinals — In what may have been a breakout performance for Wells, he racked up 85 rushing yards and 32 receiving yards while finding paydirt twice (both from the ground attack). Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt refuses to name Wells the starter over Tim Hightower, but he has to be getting closer to making the call. Wells is slowly becoming a solid running back and, given improvements in the receiving and blocking game, could be a future fantasy stud.

Check back next week for another edition of Fantasy Focus as we recognize the week’s best fantasy performers. Best of luck to you in your respective fantasy football leagues!

Note: To quickly view all of my Fantasy Focus posts, simply click the Fantasy Focus banner at the top of any such post!