Survive and advance is a popular sports mantra normally saved for the month of March and the madness that comes with it.
But thanks to the rapid growth of the NFL and fantasy football, games like FOX Fantasy Survivor can feed your craving for “win or go home” competition seven months early.
Over 25,000 football fans signed up and participated in the FOX Fantasy Survivor game last season. The hope is, with cash prizes on the line, we can eclipse that mark in 2011.
The premise is simple: pick one (1) team who you believe is going to win that week. The survivor catch remains that once you pick a team to win, you can’t pick that team again for the rest of the season. The good news is, even if you lose, you are still eligible to win cash prizes.
To assist you with your survivor selections, the FOXSports.com’s fantasy football staff will provide you their picks for the week.
Just remember the mantra: survive and advance. In a couple months, you could be $2,000 richer.
Week 2 Recap
You can send our keyboards to Canton, the FOXSports.com fantasy department posted a perfect 4-0 Survivor record in Week 2.
Harmon and Beall played it smart and took the “rock, chalk, Steelers” to punish the overmatched Seahawks in Pittsburgh. The Tarvaris Jackson era could be short-lived.
Fowler picked the Jets to harass Luke McCown. It turns out the quarterback’s six of 19 passing performance with four interceptions couldn’t secure him another start. He’s out, Blaine Gabbert is in and Fowler survives and advances.
It wasn’t pretty, but Halpin’s Giants’ pick held up on Monday night. It will be interesting to see how New York’s secondary matches up against Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant this week.
Week 3 Survivor Picks
Beall – San Diego over KC
Editor’s Commentary – The boys from a certain city in the Nevada desert consider the Chiefs at Chargers game their lock of the week straight up. As 16-point favorites (as of lunch time Wednesday), San Diego should have no trouble attacking a beat up Kansas City roster.
This is assuming the Chargers handle their business on special teams and don’t turn the ball over following an 80-yard drive. Those types of mistakes allowed KC to stun the bolts in 2010.
Harmon – Carolina over Jacksonville
Editor’s Commentary – The “Swollen Dome” is rolling the dice on Cam Newton in Week 3. The NFL’s second leading passer (854 yards in two games) squares off against the previously mentioned Blaine Gabbert. This will be the rookie quarterback’s first career start.
Despite their issues at QB, the Jaguars have only allowed 216 passing and 72 rushing yards a game. They are minus-two in the turnover department, but Carolina is minus-three.
Halpin – Tennessee over Denver
Editor’s Commentary – The Broncos shouldn’t have to worry about lining up Tim Tebow at wide receiver and expect Brandon Lloyd back in the starting lineup. Knowshon Moreno is working his way back from a hamstring injury, but the chances he plays against the Titans are slim.
Look for Chris Johnson to break out of his two-week funk. He may not eclipse 100 yards on the ground, but Denver allowed Darren McFadden to rush for 150 yards in Week 1. Kenny Britt has carried the offense on his shoulders the last two weeks. It’s CJ2K’s turn to step up.
Fowler – Pittsburgh over Indianapolis
Editor’s Commentary – Opposing teams have run the ball 75 times (most attempts in the NFL) against the Colts porous rush defense. To their credit, Indy has stood tall allowing 3.6 yards per attempt (11th in the NFL). If you factor in Rashard Mendenhall’s workload of around 20-25 carries a game, his 3.6 yards per rush attempt would equate to somewhere around 65-80 yards for the game.
But chances are if a bulldozer like Peyton Hillis could rack up 27 carries for 94 yards and two touchdowns against the Colts, the more athletic Mendenhall should hit the century mark and find the end zone at least once. Mewelde Moore and Isaac Redman should stay loose on the sidelines, too.
