I never really bought into the Raiders conspiracy theories. I always found them somewhat laughable. Although, I grew up minutes from Anaheim Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams, so I always kind of resented the Raiders growing up; and their fans when you consider the shadow of the Big A was cast on our elementary school playground.
So I'm no Raiders apologist, but I do believe the NFL schedule maker (my nemesis) did this club no favors when he made Oakland play host to the Broncos this week. I know in the mind of the NSM, he couldn't just give the Broncos another bye week. Although, with all of the rule changes I'm surprised he didn't do that.
But I truly feel for the Raiders here. Peyton Manning is coming off another humiliating defeat where he, a) lost to Tom Brady; b) couldn't perform again when it was cold out; and 4) added fuel to the fire of jerks like me. You can come in and accuse me of being a Peyton hater, but really, I'm just a Peyton truther.
And what's funny is Manning knows this, too. Have you ever wondered why Manning is so intent on setting these individual records? He's never going to match the career Tom Brady has had. The only way for Manning to even be in the conversation for best quarterback of his generation is for him to set as many records as possible. Even the most ardent of Manning fan boys would have to admit this is the truth.
This isn't to pile on Manning, though. The point is that Manning is going to make the Raiders pay for what he wasn't able to do last week in New England. So Manning is probably due for like six to 10 touchdown passes this week. And I have to believe this is what the NSM had in mind when he laid out the schedule. He probably knew Manning was going to lose in New England, and so he put the Broncos in Oakland (cleverly avoiding Denver to ensure the weather would be warm) so Peyton could have his "get well" game.
So enjoy it, everybody.
Moving on up
Jeremy Hill moved up four points to a 79 OVR. Hahahahaha. That's hilarious, and almost fitting because he got us about four fantasy points on the evening. Hill then went on to say he didn't think the Browns were that good at all, and that they were worse than he thought. Of course, he must have been confused and thought the reporters had asked him about his own quarterback, Andy Dalton.
The Giants defense was torched by Andrew Luck and the Colts (join the club), but that didn't stop Robert Ayers from moving up four points to an 84 OVR.
Our NFL Fantasy Live host, James Koh, will wear high heels on the air if DeAndre Hopkins doesn't get to 1,100 receiving yards. Well, Hopkins is on pace right now. He's up three points overall to 83.
Moving on down
Come on, guys, Cam Newton takes this stuff seriously. Do you really think he's going to just accept his two-point reduction to 87 OVR? He has slid a lot this season, and now he's going to have to go to work to move up to the 90s.
Philip Rivers is now a 93 OVR as he had negative two points. Which is quite the coincidence because he scored negative two points for my fantasy team.
Russell Wilson has also trended down. He dropped two points to 89 OVR. Maybe I should remove this tweet, which I pinned to the top of my page.
That photo is of a young me with hair. Some people have said I look like George Clooney in that photo. I don't see it.
Preston Parker dropped four points to 66 OVR. Speaking of drops, that's pretty much all he did on Monday night with the ball. It reminds me of when HHH called out Shawn Michaels for dropping the ball after he lost to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania. Damn, I'm getting old.
Great Caesar's Ghost
Seriously, Andy Dalton should drop about 40 points in the game, or his ranking should at least be in the 60s. What. Was. That?!
Six bold predictions for Sunday
EA Sports
6. The Birds win again! Can you believe the Arizona Cardinals have the best record in football? It's kind of nice to see a team actually get on a steady incline to reach their lofty status. Too often in the NFL we get these teams that seemingly come out of nowhere to win a bunch of games and make the playoffs, yet eventually prove to be frauds. But Arizona was 10-6 last year and missed the playoffs (which would have been an egregious offense if it had happened to the Giants).
5. Speaking of the Giants, I can't see them winning. I don't believe Eli is the complete mess he looked like Monday night. He received no help from most of his receivers. But put me in the camp of folks who expect the Seahawks to get right again. That might make me an idiot because, well, it's me. But I still have a lot of faith in Seattle.
4. It seems so easy to write the 49ers off, but when you consider the 49ers will be done if they lose in New Orleans, it's kind of hard to see that happening. This is a true must-win for the 49ers. But for the Saints, six wins should take the NFC South. Seriously, what's up with that division? The Falcons and Bucs game might be the worst of the weekend. If not for fantasy football, there would be no redeeming value here.
3. The market correction of the Cowboys continues this week as the spunky Jaguars beat America's Team in London. The Cowboys have suffered way too much on the defensive side of the ball. Blake Bortles will finally have his breakout game. And seriously, for all of my fans in Duval County, Fla., I feel like I've been an albatross on your neck this year. If you guys lose again this week, I can easily demur.
2. The Steelers have been one of the hottest teams in the league, and it seems like they can do nothing wrong. So I expect the Jets to find a way to win because this is the NFL. And before you get super upset Steelers fans, I picked against you the last two weeks. So you're welcome. If you give me any lip, I will pick you to win. Just try me.
1.Aaron Rodgers will break Norm Van Brocklin's single-game NFL record of 554 passing yards set in 1951. It's amazing when you think about it. With all of the passing records that have fallen in recent years, this single-game mark has stood the test of time. I'm surprised nobody has taken a serious run at it. But I like Rodgers to do it in a game against the Bears just because.
You can follow Adam Rank on Twitter @adamrank. Gamer tag: KickedBoar591 *
