Joe Namath Rehab Center 2013 Playoffs: Semi-Finals

Joe Namath Rehab Center 2013 Playoffs: Semi-Finals

#3 Mayweather/Peterson 2 (10-4) – Josh Tannenbaum

@ #2 FastFurious&Fried (9-4) – Dan Lauth

PROBABLE STARTERS

Pos.	Tannenbaum	Lauth	Advantage
QB	Cam Newton (NYJ)	Andrew Luck (Hou)	Lauth
WR1	Larry Fitzgerald (@Tenn)	Eric Decker (SD)	PUSH
WR2	Danny Amendola (@Mia)	Josh Gordon (Chi)	Lauth
RB1	LeSean McCoy (@Minn)	Eddie Lacy (@Dal)	Tannenbaum
RB2	Shane Vareen (@Mia)	CJ Spiller (@Jax)	Tannenbaum
TE	Delanie Walker (Ari)	Jason Witten (GB)	Lauth
K	Matt Prater (SD)	Ryan Succop (@Oak)	Tannenbaum
D	Cincinnati (@Pitt)	New England (@Mia)	PUSH

HOW TANNENBAUM GOT HERE:

            Josh knocked off yours truly, 101.56-83.80.  Nothing like scoring the second-most points in the league and still losing.

            Tannenbaum received 24 and 21 points from his running backs, and got at least nine points from every single position player.  Even his last-second pickup, TE Mychal Rivera, scored a touchdown.

WHY TANNENBAUM COULD WIN:

            McCoy and Vareen could severely outscore Lauth’s running backs and create a difference Lauth won’t be able to make up.  Newton will produce enough especially at home negate most of a great day from Luck.  It will come down to whether Fitz and Amendola can stay close enough with Decker and Gordon.  If they can, and they allow Tannenbaum to keep his RB advantage, then he could come away with the win.

            Walker and Cinci’s D are wild cards.  Tannenbaum is probably hoping for a 4-50 line from Walker, and more than the negative-five points the Bengals got him last week.

WHY LAUTH COULD WIN:

            Lauth’s big advantages lie in his receivers and tight end.  Gordon has been an absolute monster as of late and, as crazy as it sounds, should be counted on for no less than six catches, 100 yards and a score.

            Decker has shown that he can go for two catches or four touchdowns.  Welker being out will only help his chances of hitting paydirt once again.  If these two blow up, and Tannenbaum doesn’t receive a matching day from his backs, Lauth could win easily.

            Witten has been up-and-down all year.  He recently hauled in two scores, but has been known to go a few games without finding the endzone.

            Lauth’s season will ride on his backs.  How he can still trust Spiller in a semi-final playoff game is beyond me, but more power to him.  Lacy should have a decent day against Dallas’ horrific and shameful defense.

WHO WINS:

            I like Tannenbaum’s team as a whole better than Lauth’s.  Lauth may have some better matchups and a few more guys capable of blowing up, but I feel as if Tannenbaum is better top to bottom.

            That being said, I am going to go with Lauth since I was 0-2 last week and would like to see Tannenbaum win.

#5 DalesBasementVacancy (8-6) – Ross Williams

@ #1 Boley’s Day Care (11-2) – Dennis Egan

PROBABLE STARTERS

Pos.	Williams	Egan	Advantage
QB	Philip Rivers (@Den)	Drew Brees (@StL)	Egan
WR1	Antonio Brown (Cin)	Pierre Garcon (@Atl)	Williams
WR2	Alshon Jeffery (@Cle)	Jordy Nelson (@Dal)	Williams
RB1	Alfred Morris (@Atl)	Matt Forte (@Cle)	Egan
RB2	Giovani Bernard (@Pitt)	Knowshon Moreno (SD)	Egan
TE	Martellus Bennett (@Cle)	Jordan Reed (@Atl)	Williams
K	Stephen Gostkowski (@Mia)	Blair Walsh (Phi)	Egan
D	San Francisco (@TB)	Carolina (NYJ)	PUSH

HOW WILLIAMS GOT HERE:

            As if McFarland didn’t have a tough loss, Peon may have had it worse.  Williams got just enough points from Jeffery and Bennett on Monday Night to top Peon, 68.96-68.76.

            To put it in perspective, that is a difference of five rushing yards or ten passing yards.  One more catch for Peon, or a sack, would have netted him the win.

            A lot of kittens were murdered on the night of Dec. 9.

WHY WILLIAMS COULD WIN:

            Like Lauth in the other game, Williams has a serious receiver advantage.  The argument could be made that Brown and Jeffery are both WR1s, while Bennett is a capable TE1.  McCown has shown that he will throw to anyone.  Meanwhile, Egan has good receivers with no one to throw to them.  I learned first-hand in another league what happens to a guy like Nelson once Rodgers goes down.

            Morris and Bernard don’t have the best match-ups, however the Skins may rely more heavily on the run since they are starting Cousins.  Anything more than five points from either RB should be considered a win for Williams.

WHY EGAN COULD WIN:

            Two words.  Drew.  Brees.  If you can’t have Peyton Manning, the next best thing is Brees.  He may not be at home this week, but he is still in a dome going against a team that is hard to run on.  I would say 350 yards and three scores is a LOCK for Brees.

            Egan also holds a leg up in running backs.  Forte and Moreno are top of the line at this point.  Egan also has DeMarco Murray on the bench.  However, unless he changes his mind in the next few hours, he will be forced to roll with those two as I doubt he would bench Forte for Murray.

            The Chicago game will be interesting.  Williams owns two Bears receivers, while Egan has their workhorse back.  A lot of points will be made up or gained in that one.

            Walsh in a dome is as good as it gets right now.  And the defenses both have good matchups.  If I had to choose though, I would probably take the Panthers at home.

WHO WINS:

            While I feel as if this game could go either way, I am going to go with Egan by the slimmest of margins.  Although Egan’s receivers aren’t very reliable right now, and mega points can be had by receivers, Brees, Forte, Moreno, Walsh and Carloina’s D put him over the top for me.