With a win last weekend, I would’ve been in 4th place, sitting atop a logjam of 4-4 teams. Instead, I’m 3-5, dropped to 7th, and my playoff hopes have dimmed considerably.

This didn’t cost me outright, but I picked up the Cards defense for this week. They ended up scoring negative points for me. I was really high on them after seeing them beat the Giants, and their schedule over the next several weeks looked really tasty (Seahawks, Rams, Titans)… and of course, this week was the Panthers with the interception-machine Delhomme at QB. With all that information, I thought it was a no-brainer to pick up the Cardinals D/ST. I was also high on Dallas (pass rush woke up last week and would feast on an injury-depleted Seattle o-line), and San Diego (hello Jamarcus Russell). If I had picked up Dallas, I would’ve won. Ultimately, it was the future schedule that convinced me the Cardinals would be a better pickup overall. I should’ve considered the Cardinal’s inconsistency and lack of discipline on defense. It probably would’ve been safer to not roll the dice with them, when I had other options. Then again, I do love to roll the dice, and I could’ve had a massive payday instead of crapping out.

NOTE: Dallas would’ve won me the game, but the Chargers would not. I also had a choice to start the Colts defense, but elected not to because I was being a homer. They wouldn’t have won me the game anyway. (Any of these defenses would’ve put me in a better position to win the game, and with another Roddy White TD, this would have come to pass.)