A Feast for the Beast

Don’t touch the clicker.  Don’t go to the bathroom.  Don’t go grab a beer!

Really?  Well, grab a beer from the fridge or bar…quickly, but keep your head on a swivel because the Beast is going to FEAST tonight. 

The Packers average allowing 117+ yards on the ground to RBs and that includes a Bears team in Week 2 without Matt Forte who hurt his knee after only 7 carries.  In Week 1, an aging Frank Gore looked like Jamal Charles against the Packers’ secondary who cannot even tackle the Green Bay rusher pictured on the right.  Back spasms or off-season spasms have caused Lynch to carry a lot of question marks. They were all removed in Week 2, when versus a tough Cowboy DT he racked up 122 yards and a TD on 22 carries. 

The Feast won’t be just for the Beast, although we won’t be having Rice, there will be a Chancellor, a Hawk, and Clay…and of course, no Feast is complete without corn on the Cobb.

So what do we need to feast?  We NEED to make games more FUN to watch.  We NEED a vested interest in the players on both sides of the ball.  We NEED an easy to play, but fun fantasy game.  

WE NEED INGAMER

So, what is INGAMER?  Simple, it is an easy to play fantasy game for a single football game with the ability to change players each quarter.

So you want to play, but you don’t know where to go or who to pick, right? We got your back. Let’s go through how to play and then breakdown some analysis of Packers at Seahawks game tonight on ESPN.

HOW INGAMER WORKS

So how does it work?  You simply register for the game at www.ingamer.com.  We make that easy too as you can use Facebook or Google+ automatic sign in.  Then, select tonight’s matchup – Packers at Seahawks. 

You will be asked to select five (5) players for tonight’s game.  We suggest you select the Fill Squad button and then Submit.  This automatically gives you a competitive roster for tonight game.  Then, you can look into the matchup and make changes.  You can also select a Captain.  This player gets double points, either positive or negative so be careful as this is the one player that you cannot change. All that's left is planning where you will watch the game, inviting your friends, finding InGamer rivals and having a ton of fun.  It’s that easy.

FINDING THE BEST PLAYERS

The great thing about InGamer is that the scoring (left) is designed to make sure players who have a good game for their teams, will have a good game for you.  So you should select players that will help their team the most and that will give you the highest score.

So, the Fill Squad button does some math to make sure you have a competitive team, but you want to do more to determine who to pick.  Well, the information is built into InGamer.  You can find it all there to help you make decisions.  Here are some of our favorite plays tonight.

SEAHAWKS TO PICK TONIGHT

Marshawn Lynch, RB

This is more a coronation of Lynch than it is an indictment of the Packers DT.  Lynch is that good.  Strong power north and south rusher who will have his way with running away from AJ Hawk.  With 22 for 122 and TD last week, he was able to avoid Sean Lee of the Cowboys and you should expect solid rushing and at least one TD tonight.

KJ Wright, LB 

The fourth round draft pick out of Mississippi State in 2011 took over as a starter after week 2 in 2011 and never looked back.  Coach Carroll credits Wright with keeping the defense together and his 8 tackles and 6 assists is second on the team.   Look for Wright to find an over the middle pass and get a pick.  At 6’4” and 250, he controls the middle for this tough Seahawk defense.

Kam Chancellor, SS

At 6’3” and 230+ lbs, the media constantly wants the Seahawks to consider converting Kam to an LB.  The former VaTech Free Safety now plays the strong side and supports the run plus covers the crossing routes as the key to the Seahawks defense this season.  He has 12 solo tackles and will have a lot of them tonight as the Packers get held to short passing game.

Packers TO PICK TONIGHT

Maybe we should start with who not to start.  Do not start any RBs for the Packers.  The Seahawks DT has only allowed 72 total yards this year to RBs.   Do not start kickers.  Seahawks do their job there too.  Only 4.5 pts per game averaged from the kicker position in their first two games.  So who to play:

Aaron Rodgers, QB

Rodgers will have to throw to beat this Seahawks defense.  He will throw early and often to the TE and to players out of the backfield.  Rodgers averaged over 300 yards passing per game last season while throwing 45 TDs.  This year, he threw for 300+ yards in week 1 and then in a game that turned into the Cedric Benson show because the Bears kept only seven in the box, the Pack opted not to throw.  The Seahawks believe they can stop both the pass and the run especially in one of the loudest buildings in the NFL.  Expect Aaron Rodgers to be the show with flip passes to Finley, Cobb and J Nelson who are all great after the catch.

Randall Cobb, WR

Cobb has lined up 20 times in the backfield in week 1.  In Week 2, they went with two TE sets and Cobb played sparingly in the backfield.  He will begin to get some rushes and swing passes from the backfield.  Watch the reports as we approach game time since Cobb had some hamstring issues as late as Friday.  Gut feel here. This week is a great spot for trickery against an aggressive Seahawks’ defense.  Cobb also returns all punts and kicks giving him extra value.

Jermichael Finley, TE

After two drops and inconsistent route running, Finley dedicated to getting back to week 1 form.  He has 11 catches and a TD in two games and the run heavy game 2 makes us think that caused the loss of focus since he was blocking 90% of the time.  Finley remains a dominant force at TE and a great short option for Rodgers.  Bank on Finley to help jump start Green Bay early and often.

A.J. Hawk, LB

As dominating a LB as there is in stopping the run.  He has 12 solo tackles and 7 assists this year.  He is not getting the sacks that he usually does, but that could change if he is tasked with shadowing Russell Wilson.  Wilson, a mobile QB, has yet to be cut loose and this could be the week if Green Bay decides to focus on stopping the Beast.  Media was critical of him in stopping the run and he has used that as motivation to prove that he is the best.  Seems to be working.

Clay Matthews Jr, LB

With 6 sacks in the first two games and his crushing performance in Week 2 that included 3.5 sacks of Jay Cutler.  Russell Wilson is much more elusive than the slower Cutler, but Matthews has the speed to track down the touted QB.  Matthews also has 10 tackles plus assists and drops into coverage often enough to get an occasional pick or defend passes.

Finally, HAVE FUN.  Don’t overthink.  Play the players you want to root for and those that you think will do the best.  Simple as that.

So pick the place to watch the game. Grab your friends. Get the beer.  AND….get ready for the FEAST…INGAMER.

Rick Wolf is a consultant, player, radio host and writer in Fantasy Sports who with Glenn Colton has won 6 major expert titles in the last 10 years. Wolf started the Fantasy Sports Division at CBS Sports in 1996 and transformed Rotoworld.com in 2002 to be bought by NBCU in 2006.  Wolf is a founding board member of the FSTA, acted as its chairman from 2002-2006 and was elected to the FSTA Hall of Fame in 2011.  Wolf also co-hosts a popular radio show on Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio – Colton and The Wolfman.  He can be found on Twitter @RickWolf1