The overlap of NFL season with its myriad pools and contests and the end of baseball made for an intense day. I finished 12th overall in the 450-person NFBC Main event, falling short of 11th (the last paying spot) by one point and ninth by 12.5 points. Had Clayton Kershaw needed five innings instead of three and two-thirds to get his 300th strikeout, I'm probably $2,000 richer. But baseball season was otherwise good to me, and once it wound down, I was more concerned with my struggling fantasy football teams. But with Le'Veon Bell, Todd Gurley and Devonta Freeman in several places, those slow-starting squads are straightening themselves out, so much so I'm looking at 9-0 across my leagues in Week 4. So everything's great, and I can finally relax, right? Not exactly. After a 20-27-1 start against the spread, I needed a big week to get back to par. It was not to be. I locked in the Colts minus nine before the Andrew Luck news came out, I had the Dolphins in London, and that was before the disastrous main slate even kicked off. Even though I was watching the games at Heather's aunt's beach house, and I was able to look at this, this and this during commercials and at halftime, the day was still torture.
• The Giants handled the Bills pretty easily in their building, thanks to a strong run defense - something they lacked a year ago - and a steady-enough game by Eli Manning. New (and former) defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is a significant upgrade over the departed Perry Fewell, and the team's pass defense is better too now that its starting cornerbacks are healthy.
• The Giants running game is still a three-headed monster, but Rashad Jennings looked like Rob Gronkowski on a 51-yard TD catch, straight-arming safety Baccari Rambo to the ground on his way into the end zone. It doesn't mean anything, but it was a bad-ass play.
• Tyrod Taylor had his worst game, to date, not coincidentally against the best defense he's faced. Rex Ryan didn't seem to trust him in the pocket near the goal line, calling a QB run and a quick throw to the outside when the Bills got in close, rather than letting Taylor stand back and survey the field. Several running QBs (Robert Griffin, Colin Kaepernick, Vince Young) have looked good initially in recent years, only to fall apart when teams adjusted. Given his age and lack of pedigree, the odds are against Taylor being the long-term solution for the Bills.
• Odell Beckham caught only five of 12 targets for 38 yards. For whatever reason, he and Eli Manning haven't remotely picked up where they left off last year.
• I only watched a little of the Jets-Dolphins game, but it's obvious Joe Philbin had to be fired. The team looked lost. I'd expect Lamar Miller, Jarvis Landry and maybe Jordan Cameron to benefit from a dead-cat bounce.
• The three TDs from Devonta Freeman for the second game in a row were obviously huge, but perhaps more encouraging were the five catches for 81 yards. The Falcons don't use the tight end, and they're not deep at receiver, so there's a lot of upside for Freeman as a pass catcher.
• DeAndre Hopkins got 22 targets in a game that had perfect flow for a No. 1 receiver. His QBs are bad, but the volume will pay the bills.
• I hate that MVP talk is so QB-centric, but J.J. Watt is the best defensive lineman ever, and his team is terrible.
• So much for the Derek Carr breakout. He got 5.9 YPA against the Bears.
• While the book on the Raiders is they can't cover the tight end, they actually did a decent job on Martellus Bennett who had only 83 yards on 13 targets (6.4 YPT), though he did have a touchdown.
• I'm annoyed I fell for the narrative that the Browns were giving up by starting Josh McCown over Johnny Manziel. They should start Manziel because they need to find out whether he's the future of the franchise, but that they are not - while stupid - doesn't mean they won't play a good game. In fact, McCown threw for 356 yards (8.7 YPA), two TDs and no picks.
• Travis Benjamin is the team's clear No. 1 WR, in fact the only WR the Browns regularly seem to target. That's worth something, whatever you think of the team's passing game. The same seems to be true of TE Gary Barnidge too.
• If San Diego kicker Josh Lambo has a great career, they should call Chargers Stadium "Lambo Field."
• Colin Kaepernick is so out to lunch, still burning timeouts as he loses track of the play clock and taking a sack on fourth down with the game on the line instead of throwing it up for grabs. He's as broken as RGIII.
• There's a special place in handicapping hell for Saints kicker Zach Hocker who missed a chip shot FG that would have won the game for the Saints and sealed the cover (+4) for the Cowboys. Instead the game goes to overtime, and C.J. Spiller scores a long touchdown. Spiller might have been dropped in leagues had Hocker made the kick.
• Todd Gurley had a monster game, but it would have been even bigger had he not eschewed a walk-in TD, so the Rams could run out the clock. I moved Gurley to No. 6 on our running back cheat sheet, and maybe that's being too conservative.
• Speaking of the Rams, is Tavon Austin really their No. 1 WR? At 5-8, 176, he's awfully small to be seeing regular volume.
• With Drew Brees back, Brandin Cooks led the Saints in targets with eight, but he managed only 25 yards Meanwhile, Willie Snead went six for 89.
• Cole Beasley had six catches for 62 yards. With Lance Dunbar out for the year, Beasley could be a useful PPR option.
• You have to respect Andy Reid for trying to get Cairo Santos the single-game field-goal record rather than fixating narrowly on the win.
• Three buy-low players for this week are Sam Bradford, Jordan Matthews and Mike Evans. The first two started slowly, but it takes time to build a rapport, and the latter was slow to connect with Jameis Winston while coming off an injury.
• If the Seahawks had anyone but Russell Wilson at quarterback, they'd be in big trouble with that offensive line. One thing they could do is trade Jimmy Graham, who they rarely use, for a quality center.
• After the horrific beating I took against the spread on Sunday (3-10), it was a great relief to see the Lions cover. Of course, they fumbled on the one-yard line and lost, but no one cares about that.