By Dan O’Shea

You never want to doubt Peyton Manning’s ability, but if there ever was a time that his fantasy production seemed poised for a dip, it appeared to be this season.
He came into the year with an another intriguing but injury-prone mix of receivers, including an aging Reggie Wayne and another newbie named Blair White; an injury-prone star running back and an unproven back-up RB; and had finished the 2009-10 season with 16 interceptions, the most he recorded since 2002-03.
Yet, after Week 3 and heading into the first bye week, there is no better fantasy football performer than Manning the elder. He has passed for 1,013 yards with nine touchdowns and zero INTs. He was probably a late second-round pick in many leagues, and right now is looking like a steal. We’ll see how long he can keep it up.
While Manning is a familiar name at the top of the fantasy football heap, there are a few other players who have turned out to be surprisingly good during the first three games. Here are the biggest surprises at all positions:

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Posted on September 29, 2010

Blue: As far as this Bear fan can tell, you can’t be better than 3-0. The Detroit game was won via a dumb move by an amazing talent. The second game needed a truly poor performance by Eastern Illinois’ finest, Tony Romo. Monday night’s victory required an amazing 18 penalties by the Packers, a blocked kick, Devin Hester’s first return of a punt since 2007, and a forced fumble by Brian Urlacher on the final Pack drive. How long can we keep up winning based on the other teams’ mistakes? Who cares? As I said earlier, you can’t better than 3-0.
Other than Jay Cutler throwing a perfect tight spiral interception to the Packers’ Derrick Martin in the end zone, the offense looked good enough. The Mike Martz system still seems a bit of a mystery at times to the WR corps, the running game is woefully absent, and the offensive line still seems to be hell-bent on finding out if Cutler is tougher than Chuck Norris. On the positive side, though, the offense was able to move the ball when needed. Greg Olsen might be a top-5 tight end in a system that supposedly has no place for a tight end and the wide receivers are showing that you need no true No. 1 when you have four No. 3s. Think about it: If you have a No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 wide receiver, you add up to 10. If you have four No. 3s, you add up to 12. Jerry Angelo might be on to something.

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Posted on September 29, 2010

By Jim Coffman

Could Chicago possibly be happier? The good news arrived Monday and I have a hard time believing that any sports fan in our fair city didn’t rejoice as long and as loud as was humanly possible. Clearly we will all always remember exactly where we were when we absorbed the fact that . . . Ozzie will return next year to again manage the White Sox.
What’s that you say? You thought I was talking about the Bears? Well, I’m certainly happy they pulled out their biggest win since the 2006 NFC Championship game. I mean, it would take an extreme killjoy to point out that despite the great start, if the Bears lose to the Giants this coming Sunday evening in New Jersey, they will have the exact same record at the end of the first quarter of this season as they did last.

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Posted on September 28, 2010

By Matt Farmer

You want to know what went through my mind when I heard that NFL legend George Blanda had passed away on Monday? It wasn’t the 41-yard field goal he kicked at age 48 in the AFC Championship Game in January 1976. And it wasn’t the 2,002 career points he racked up during his 26 years in the league. Truth be told, my first thought had nothing to do with football.
I flashed back to the time he caught me breaking into his car.

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Posted on September 28, 2010

By Marty Gangler

The news last week that Jim Hendry’s ever-expanding list of managerial candidates being granted interviews now includes Don Wakamatsu led us here at The Cub Factor to wonder who isn’t getting an interview. Is Hendry getting paid per candidate? And why does he seem determined to interview everyone who ever managed Milton Bradley?
The Cub Factor put its crack reporting staff into the field to answer these questions and struck gold when we obtained the remainder of Hendry’s interview schedule. Here is today’s lineup, just for starters.
7 a.m.: That kid at the Dunkin’ Donuts who always knew Soriano shouldn’t lead-off.
8 a.m.: Tom Ricketts, third interview.
9 a.m.: Yosh Kawano. He understands Cubs culture.
10 a.m.: Bob Brenly. Len Kasper.

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Posted on September 27, 2010

By Andrew Reilly

He wants to walk? Here’s an idea: Let him walk. Let him leave. Wish him well in Florida or New York or Lakeview or wherever he ends up and move on.
Not because it’s easy to find a guy who overestimates the value of the Mark Kotsays of the world. It is, but that’s not the point.

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Posted on September 27, 2010

By Mike Luce

The Week Four Obligatory Heisman Discussion
In the wake of the explosion by Denard “Shoelaces” Robinson in the early going of this season, we will now engage in the mandatory Heisman speculation. The Michigan QB has gone crazy in the first three games, with over 500 yards rushing, 4 TDs and a very un-QB-like 7.6 yards per attempt. Oh, and he has thrown the ball a little bit too – to the tune of 671 yards, a 70% completion percentage and a ridiculous 158.64 QB rating. If you don’t know anything about QB ratings, don’t worry. We don’t either. But we do know that’s a good number. And don’t forget the decimals – that’s the difference between #20 (Robinson) and #21 (Clemson QB Kyle Parker, at 158.4). To top things off, some guy at The Michigan Daily snapped a photo of Robinson that bears a striking resemblance to a certain famous trophy.

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Posted on September 25, 2010

By Dan O’Shea

I haven’t participated in all that many fantasy leagues that use team defenses, though I’ve gotten the sense the majority of them go by team stats rather than individual defensive player (IDP – seriously, it’s an increasingly used acronym) stats.
I like the IDP system because those three for four IDP positions can really mess with projections and perception about who has the best team. It makes things more unpredictable and sends manager running every which way trying to figure who’s most likely to force fumbles while also collecting double-digit tackles. Having said that, I’m now in two leagues with team defense, and I’m starting to be won over.

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Posted on September 22, 2010

By Nikki Golden and Carl Mohrbacher

Blue: For the second week in a row, the Bears managed a narrow victory over a handicapped opponent, though this week it seemed that the opposition’s weakness lay squarely between their ears.
Frolicking in the springtime of a love affair with the pass, Dallas head coach Wade Phillips called for 51 aerial plays, despite a roster that boasts three starting-caliber running backs. Ignoring repeated visual evidence to the contrary, Fox analyst and former Cowboy great Troy Aikman, alongside St. Louis Cardinals announcer Joe Buck, continued to relay nationally broadcasted reassurances to the Cowboys that passing behind Jason Witten and over the head of Miles Austin was in fact, exemplary quarterbacking.
As a result, Big D managed only a single offensive touchdown for the second time in two games, with the other trip to the end zone provided by a first quarter Dez Bryant punt return.
Opting to erase all doubt of their collective incompetence, the Cowboys’ coaching staff ordered an end to the aggressive and effective defensive game plan that held the Bears to eight total yards in their first three offensive series.
Sensing an opportunity to mystify the opposition, coordinator Mike Martz dialed up a series of elegant and complex plays certain to baffle the now relaxed Dallas defense. However, as evidenced by Devin Hester’s completion-negating “illegal formation” penalty in the second quarter, it seems the Bears skill players are often equally baffled by Martz’s wizardry.
Credit Jay Cutler’s ability to work within the limitations of his personnel, as he wisely called two consecutive hot routes for confused receivers Devin Hester and Greg Olsen (“Run a slant . . . No the other way!” and “Go over there for a while!” respectively) during Chicago’s first touchdown drive.

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Posted on September 21, 2010

By Marty Gangler

Did anyone notice that the Cubs went 6-0 for the week? Anyone? Anyone?
Maybe they should have made a managerial change when it still mattered. The Cubs are 17-7 with Mike Quade at the helm. And yet, Quade doesn’t seem to stand a chance to get the job permanently, what with Joe Girardi, Ryne Sandberg and Eric Wedge in the mix. What does the guy have to do to prove he belongs?
* Win every game by slaughter rule.
* Play second base for these last few games at a Hall of Fame level to get the fans to think that you are a better manager because you know what it’s like to be a Cub.
* Change last name to Quenneville.
* Change full name to Mark DeRosa.
* Wear silly glasses and manage from the bleachers with a beer in your hand to prove to the new owners that you are all about the Cubbie experience.

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Posted on September 21, 2010