Things to Look Forward to This Football Season

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Training camp has begun around the NFL, and most major-college football teams will begin camp within the next week, so why don't we just tackle a broad range of awesome things to look forward to this season.

Obviously, you should be excited about everything, because football is the best, but here are a few things to look forward to, other than your favorite team shocking the world and winning a championship, of course.

Patriots Fans for the First Month of the Season

Look, we're all sick of DeflateGate, and we're probably even more sick of hearing Patriots fans whine about DeflateGate, and drunkenly inflate the class and integrity of Tom Brady.

We get it, the NFL is an evil organization that is holding down your poor, victim quarterback who has never caught a break in his life, and now must miss the first four games of the 2016 season.

That said, I'm really excited to listen to Patriots fans the first month of the season. There are already people around Boston saying "what if Jimmy Garoppolo plays well? Maybe there's no job for Tom when he comes back."

As Bill Belichick would say, "Jesus Christ."

Bob Lobel: So, Gambling is Okay Now? The NFL & MLB's Hypocrisy over DraftKings & FanDuel

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

There is no such thing as a good bye week. 

Not anymore, not since NFL football became an engine running the economy. This is now a week for local restraint in pulling out the wallet.

But wait, Sunday is back to the screen, as the newest crazy game to grip our nation continues to explode, at least until they all go to jail: DraftKings and FanDuel.

Jeremy's Fabulous, Free Fantasy Football Feature

This is LeSean McCoy's "I'm not on the Eagles anymore, so you probably shouldn't draft me" face.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Here’s a shocker - I’m a 26-year old male sports fan, and I love fantasy football.

The last two weeks of August every year involve me registering anywhere from 8-10 teams (most of them just to prepare for the 3 leagues that I actually care about) and three times as many mock drafts and auctions. I can’t get enough. There was a year I actually had to register new email accounts in order to register new ESPN.com accounts in order to register more than 10 fantasy teams.

But it’s infuriating. I love fantasy football, but I hate it. Or maybe I love to hate it. Or maybe I hate how much I love it. One way or the other, nothing causes me as much hair-splitting, teeth-mashing frustration on a weekly basis than fantasy football. For years I thought Amani Toomer had a personal vendetta against me - he had an uncanny ability to score meaningless touchdowns in Week 12-14 to hose me out of a playoff spot. I think he did it in three straight seasons (including one even after he retired, somehow). In five of the last 10 seasons, I’ve had a first-round pick in one of the two or three “serious” leagues suffer a season-ending injury or incident in the first half of the season or totally fall off a cliff for reasons unexplained (Daunte Culpepper, Tom Brady, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson) and totally ruin my season. But I keep coming back. And so here I am.

Football's Holiday Gifts

Peyton Manning was in the giving mood Monday night, giving the ball away four times while handing the Bengals a playoff berth and the Patriots home field advantage.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Tonight we hit the true heart of the holiday season.

It's the final night of Chanukah, Christmas Eve eve and, for football fans, the beginning of the good part of bowl season, and the home stretch of the NFL regular season.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

So, join me in taking a look at some gifts that have been given to several football teams, players and fan bases this holiday season.

Home Field Advantage

From: Peyton Manning
To: Tom Brady

Manning and Brady are supposed to be somewhat friendly, but it was surprising to see Peyton gift wrap the AFC's No. 1 seed for Tom with a four-interception stinker against the Bengals last night.

Last Minute Fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems: Week 15

Fantasy owners have patiently awaited the return of Josh Gordon for their postseason runs, but should you start him this week against a strong Bengals pass defense?

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

By now, your fantasy league has no doubt entered the postseason, where roster decisions are amplified in an elimination setting.

Whether your league does its playoffs in a one or two-week format, even the best fantasy player is just a few poor starts or sits away from elimination, no matter how solid your team has been all year.

With injuries, teams fighting for NFL playoff spots, guys playing for contracts and other teams that have flat-out given up, there's a ton to take into account when choosing a starter this week.

Obviously, you start your studs. As the saying goes, you "dance with the girl you brought to the prom," so now is not the time to bench DeMarco Murray in favor of a guy with a better matchup. But, for all those guys on the fringe, here are your playoff start'ems and sit'ems.

Last Minute Fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems: Week 10

Jeremy says to sit Russell Wilson this week, so you should definitely start him.

By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin)

Joe is off this week, so I'm your fantasy czar. You'd be wise to hear my advice and then go in the exact opposite direction. In one of my leagues, I'm currently first place in total points scored but sit at 1-8. Luck has not been a lady. Luck has been a cold-hearted bitch.

Start'em

Quarterback: Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia

Matchup: vs. Carolina, Monday Night

Look, I'm not advocating for Sanchez to be your long-term solution or the franchise quarterback of your favorite real, not fantasy football team. But if you're strapped for options at quarterback (and you might be with guys like Luck, Rivers, and Brady on bye weeks and guys like Romo and Foles with injuries), Sanchez is your best bet for a quick plug average performance. It's tough to screw up too bad in Philadelphia's offense, and they're running into Carolina, who hasn't really been able to stop anyone through the air.

Last Minute Fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems: Week 9

RG3 is back this week and facing the hapless Vikings, so you should totally start him, right?

 By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In a jam choosing between two borderline starters this week? I've got your back with my last-minute start'ems and sit'ems. Let's get right to it.

Last Minute Fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems: Week 8

Jerick McKinnon may be the latest flash-in-the-pan, high-volume, stat-padding running back on a bad team to save your fantasy season.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In a jam choosing between two borderline starters this week? I've got your back with my last-minute start'ems and sit'ems. Let's get right to it.
 

Last Minute Fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems: Week 6

Sometimes in Fantasy Football you gotta dig deep! I'm talking Titans receiver deep.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

In a jam choosing between two borderline starters this week? I've got your back with my last-minute start'ems and sit'ems. Let's get right to it.

Last Minute Fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems: Week 5

I had you start Ben Roethlisberger last week, but the Steelers are playing the Jags today, so let's go two in a row for Big Ben.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We're a few weeks into the 2014 season, and we're starting to get a bit more of a feel for which teams present the toughest (and easiest) matchups for your borderline fantasy starter.

Matchups played a huge part in this week's picks, as I opted to avoid Buffalo skill players (who must work with new starting quarterback Kyle Orton) against the stingy Detroit defense, but made all of my "start'em" picks based on favorable matchups.

So, without further ado, here are this week's last minute start'ems and sit'ems.

Last Minute Fantasy "Start'ems and Sit'ems:" Week 3

I know starting Mike Wallace is scary, but you're just going to have to trust me this week.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Last week my picks didn't work out so well.

I told you to sit Jay Cutler, who threw for four touchdowns, and told you to start Jake Locker, who threw for over 230 yards and a touchdown, but also had a pair of picks against the horrific Cowboys defense.

I also picked the wrong New England running back (we've all been there), told you to start Golden Tate (though his 5 catches for 57 was better than the guy I told you to sit, Pierre Garcon, who had 1 catch for 12) and told you Chris Ivory wasn't likely to score another touchdown.

Ivory had a bad game against Green Bay, just 43 yards on 13 carries, but dammit, he scored again!

So, why will this week be any better? Because there's no way I can be that wrong two weeks in a row, right? If anything, you can start using these columns to do the opposite of what I say. So, without further ado, here are your last minute fantasy Start'ems and Sit'ems for Week 3.

Last Minute Fantasy "Start'ems and Sit'ems:" Week 2

Patriots running back Shane Vereen could be in line for an increased workload and bigger fantasy numbers this week.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We'll see how regularly we can keep this going, but this is the first week of SuiteSports' last minute fantasy football advice.

We're going to try to do this every Sunday morning, though it will likely depend on the kind of Saturday fellow editor Jeremy Conlin and I have.

Don't feel bad, that's the same attitude I have toward my 77 fantasy teams as well.

Just kidding, I only have three, but it seems like 77 sometimes when I find myself simultaneously rooting for and against every wide receiver in the league.

Anyways, here are some guys you may want to plug in or pull out before kickoff today. Obviously, you're going to want to start the Peyton Mannings and LeSean McCoys of the world every week, but here are some guys on the border of a QB1, WR2, RB2 or Flex spot.

Football is Here to Get Us Through the Dog Days

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

The most asked question of the week will be “are they really starting football season already? How is that possible?” 

Yep, it's here, and with all the trappings of fantasy leagues, bookies and all that good stuff. The growth of fantasy league football is astonishing. It just taps into anyone that ever had a fantasy. Guilty as charged! 

I do not play fantasy football, however, for the same reason I don’t bet on the games. It’s a very simple reason for not getting involved in either fantasy or gambling, and that is… I'm not smart enough.