Thank God for Monday Night Football

Thank God for Monday Night Football…

On Mondays I get up in the Morning, usually in a good mood because I might have gotten laid the night before, and I’m putting it on my opponent like Ray Lewis lit up Dustin Keller week one. I think we will still be talking about that hit week 16; sorry Dustin.

I work my twelve hour shift at the hospital spending half of my slow day at the computer in the back checking how my league is doing and looking for possible trades. I call my wife as I’m leaving and head over to see a group of guys I hang out with. It’s just for an hour but it keeps me sane. I get home and immediately after kissing my wife and daughter hello, the t.v. goes to ESPN, if it’s not on already (I’ve got a pretty amazing wife).  Monday Night Football is my time.

It’s like this. Every Tuesday, no matter what, it’s family night. When my wife gets home from a long day at school I put my daughter, Payton, down for a nap, cook a great dinner, and take care of my girls the way a man is suppose to. I’m serious, Antonio Cromartie. With all those kids I don’t see how you do it; what’s the count up to now anyway…13? I love my time with my girls; I wouldn’t miss it.

Same thing with Monday. I’m usually working on Sunday so it’s hard to catch all the games in real time. I record the Panthers game, which is usually followed by a swift deletion of said recording because I swear if I watch one more crappy Panthers game I’m gonna start kickin old people. But come Monday, no matter what, I’ve got a date with my boys; Gruden, Tirico, and Jaws.

This week’s matchup has become one of the great divisional rivalries over the years. This year there are some dynamic changes for both teams that should make for an exciting new chapter in the saga that is Patriots v. Dolphins.

The Teams:

New England

Everyone talks about the young, new-look defense of the New England Patriots, and they had me fooled after the game against the Jets in week 1. Yea they’re young and inexperienced but so was that kid in “American Pie” and by the end of the movie he still got laid. Youth can be good sometimes. Take a look at their offense for instance: The Pats have two extremely talented rookies at tight end in Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Hernandez already has a 100 yard game under his belt and two touchdowns to boot, while Gronkowski has received increased looks from Brady each game. They have both become yet another cog in the massive wheel that is the Patriots offensive, especially in the red zone. Tom Brady to Randy Moss is something we’ve come to know very well so I’m not gonna touch that other than to say this: It’s Monday night and these guys are on prime time television yet again. If you have either of them I would advice you to quit over-analyzing your lineup and put them in. Or do you need more proof that these two are relentless on Mondays? Also, watch out for Brandon Tate as his special teams play will work him into offense. I’m not saying he will have a big day, I just think he will have one or two key catches to help the Patriots score.

Beware of this whole BenJarvis Green-Ellis fad. It’s like the guy is a frickin’ Beatle or something. We all like to jump on whichever Patriots running back comes into a game after the front man of their evil committee goes down and the Patriots are leading. The new guy rushes for big yardage- maybe even a touchdown- and we decide he deserves a vote to the Pro Bowl. Just be careful, I’ve seen it before where we invest to much and they let ya down. Other good fantasy options are Wes Welker and Julian Edleman as Tom Brady will dump off 5-8 yard check downs for 3^rd down conversions.

Miami:

I’m not sure anyone expected as much out of Chad Henne as he does out of himself. He's playing great and setting his team up to push for the division. Henne just went for 363 yards and two touchdowns against the highly touted Jets defense. Even if they didn't have their prized distraction Darrelle Revis, that is a tall order. Now he goes up against the young Patriots D, who have given up an average of 18 fantasy points to signal callers this year. He will connect with Brandon Marshall early and hit some big plays in the suspect secondary. Look for Devone Bess to have a better game this week as well, but Marshall will have another 100 yard game with a touchdown to top it off. If Ronnie Brown (hamstring) and Ricky Williams can get it going  I’m not sure the Pats will be able to stop them.

And how about that defense, huh? These guys just make plays…sometimes. We want to believe they are good but look at the last three weeks. They did nothing last week against the Jets, netting -1 fantasy points (not good for those of you just getting started). Before that they had 6 sacks, 3 interceptions and 1 special teams touchdown…but the first three sacks were against the Bills and all their picks came against the new AARP poster boy Brett Favre. This will be a good test to see if the Fins’ D can bounce back from giving up 31 points to stop one of the most dynamic offenses in the game.

Game Prediction:

I believe the Dolphins are on the right track this year. And it looks like Bill Parcells got them there. The Patriots and the Dolphins both lost to the Jets, so you can look at this game as a fight for the second place spot in a division I believe will be the toughest in football in the near future. This will be a tight game and in the midst of superstars old and new, special teams play will determine the winner of this game. Tom Brady plays big on Monday night. Patriots win, barely, 24-21