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Baltimore @ WashingtonSay he never tears the plantar plate in his foot. Where does Pierre Garcon rank among fantasy receivers through 12 games? I'll say top 15 with upside for more. The Skins are 5-1 in Garcon's six appearances, and he's secured 12 of a team-high 17 targets for 192 yards and two TDs the past two weeks. Now facing burnable Baltimore CBs Cary Williams and Chykie Brown, Garcon is fast approaching every-week WR2 value for the fantasy playoffs. ... During Washington's three-game winning streak, Robert Griffin III has completed 47-of-64 passes (73.4 percent) for 674 yards (10.53 YPA) and a 9:1 TD-to-INT ratio. He's chipped in 185 yards on 23 carries (8.04 YPC). "He's changing the game with the way he plays the position," ESPN's Jon Gruden observed of Griffin last week. Start a white-hot RG3 against Baltimore's mediocre defense. ... Griffin's target distribution since Garcon returned following the Redskins' Week 10 bye: Garcon 20, Josh Morgan 14, Logan Paulsen 7, Santana Moss 6, Leonard Hankerson 5, Niles Paul and Aldrick Robinson 2.Beyond Garcon, there isn't a single Washington pass catcher worth weekly fantasy investment. Garcon is the featured receiver in a run-first offense, and the remaining tight ends and wideouts are rotating role players. ... Alfred Morris has 576 yards on his last 115 carries (5.01 YPC) and continues to churn out chain-moving run after chain-moving run. While Morris' lack of passing-game usage puts a bit of a cap on his week-to-week fantasy upside, he remains locked in as a high-end to mid-range RB2. The Ravens are playing better run defense than their No. 23 ranking suggests, but they are hardly a shutdown group and may be without do-it-all DE/OLB Terrell Suggs due to a torn biceps. Morris is third in the NFL in rushing and ninth in running back scoring.Do home-and-away stats have predictive value, or are they just interesting hindsight analysis? I struggle with this. For Joe Flacco, they're a definite trend. In six home games this season, Flacco has completed 131-of-207 passes (63.3 percent) for 1,800 yards (8.7 YPA) and an 11:4 TD-to-INT ratio. In six away games, Flacco is 121-of-219 (55.3 percent) for 1,238 yards (5.65 YPA), four touchdowns, and four picks. The Redskins rank 23rd against the pass and allow the highest QB rating in the NFC, but Flacco is a two-quarterback league option only because he becomes John Skelton on the road. ... While Torrey Smith's inconsistency is maddening, the overall numbers have been there. He's the No. 17 fantasy receiver and likely headed for a bounce-back game in D.C. Smith's 4.43 vertical speed will be difficult for ankle-hobbled Redskins LCB DeAngelo Hall to handle on the outside. ... Flacco's target distribution since Baltimore's Week 8 bye: Anquan Boldin 44, Smith 43, Ray Rice 23, Dennis Pitta 21, Jacoby Jones 19, Tandon Doss 8, and Ed Dickson 7.Boldin is always a low-upside fantasy bet -- he has two TDs and one 100-yard effort over his last 16 regular season games -- but Boldin is pacing Baltimore in targets and has a plus Week 14 matchup versus Redskins rookie slot corner Richard Crawford. Consider Boldin a viable WR3. ... Washington has served up a lot of fantasy points to tight ends this season, but Pitta has been overtaken by Boldin as Flacco's go-to receiver over the middle and isn't a realistic TE1. ... Doss has begun cutting into Jones' third receiver snaps. Neither backup wideout is worth a fantasy roster spot. ... After mid-November slowdown concerns, Rice has ripped off 170 yards on his last 30 carries (5.67 YPC). Washington ranks fourth in run defense, but gets pushed around in the trenches more than that stat indicates and should be no match for Rice's cutting ability, and elite vision and versatility. Rice is a top-five RB1.Score Prediction: Redskins 27, Ravens 23St. Louis @ BuffaloGrabbing a 24-10 third-quarter lead surely played a role, but it's fair to wonder if last week's 46:17 run-to-throw ratio against Jacksonville was a sign of Buffalo transitioning toward a run-heavy offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick is averaging a Russell Wilsonian 26 pass attempts the past three weeks after averaging 33 in the first nine games. Weak-armed Fitzpatrick has always fared poorly in the November and December elements, and the Bills' best offensive talent is in the running game. A philosophical adjustment would make sense. In Week 14, Buffalo will face a St. Louis team that defends the pass better than the run. Fitz is a low-end two-QB league option with decreasing upside if the revised offense sticks. ... Fitzpatrick's target distribution during those three games: Stevie Johnson 29, Donald Jones and Scott Chandler 11, C.J. Spiller 8, T.J. Graham 7, Fred Jackson 4. ... If Buffalo leans on F-Jax and Spiller as its offensive foundation during the final month, Johnson will be the lone Bills pass catcher with any shot at consistent production. It's pretty much been that way in Buffalo this year anyway. Chan Gailey's Pistol scheme spreads the field with constant five-wideout sets, and can get Johnson matched up with rookie CBs Janoris Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson on a high volume of Sunday's pass plays. Assuming his hamstring holds up, Johnson is a solid WR3 against the Rams.A concern for Jackson's fantasy outlook is C Eric Wood's likely season-ending MCL tear. Wood is Buffalo's best interior lineman, and Jackson is the Bills' primary inside runner. F-Jax remains a worthwhile flex play against a St. Louis defense surrendering the fourth most rushing touchdowns in the league, but his effectiveness could be impacted going forward. ... Jackson told reporters after last week's game that he indeed anticipates Buffalo fielding a run-first offense down the stretch. "Without a doubt," he said. "We feel like our best players are in the running back room." Spiller's lack of red-zone usage is confounding, but he will continue to be the best bet in Buffalo's backfield for yardage and touchdowns. Gailey has publicly committed to keeping his best player heavily involved, even if Spiller's snaps and touches all occur between the 20s. Perhaps he isn't quite the RB1 we envisioned, but Spiller is a high-upside and high-end RB2 starter in Week 14.The Bills stand a lowly 30th in the NFL run-defense rankings, but they've gotten it together of late. Buffalo has held the Dolphins, Colts, and Jaguars to a combined 197 yards and one touchdown on 71 carries (2.77 YPC) the past three weeks. Those aren't quite juggernaut rushing offenses, but the Bills possess ample front-four talent for sustained stoutness. While Steven Jackson is every bit worth an RB2 start, he's not quite the blowup-game cinch he might've been earlier in the year. ... Chris Givens opened the season as a streak-route specialist, running downfield goes and flies on a limited route tree. Givens has gotten better every week and took a big step forward in his career with an 11-catch, 92-yard effort in Week 13, securing 79 percent of his game-high 14 targets. "In terms of his movement, there are similarities to Mike Wallace," tape guru Greg Cosell opined of Givens this week. "I think Givens showed last week that he can make short catches. I'd still like to see more of them. ... But there's no question the kid has great movement skill." Givens figures to draw emerging Bills top corner Stephon Gilmore in Week 14 pass coverage. Opposing receiver stats against Gilmore over the past four weeks: Brian Hartline 4-49, Brandon Lloyd 5-45, Reggie Wayne 8-102, and Justin Blackmon 1-9. None of them has scored a touchdown. Givens is worth a long look as a WR3 against the Bills, but he'll have a battle on his hands with Gilmore.Sam Bradford has completed 83-of-139 passes (59.7 percent) for 871 yards (6.27 YPA), and a 6:2 TD-to-INT ratio over his last four games. Bradford is playing better than he did in 2011, but he's still a low-end QB2 squaring off with a Bills pass defense that has surged to No. 13 in the league rankings. Buffalo is finally rushing the passer and playing aggressive defense in the back four. LE Mario Williams has five sacks over his last three games. ... Rams rookie change-of-pace back Daryl Richardson's usage has fallen steadily since the October 16 trade deadline. His touch total has dropped in four straight games. Richardson is just a lottery-ticket stash at this point, needing an S-Jax injury to be start-able in fantasy leagues. ... Danny Amendola's (heel) return to practice this week indicates he's being prepared to play on Sunday. He didn't practice at all the past two weeks. Amendola's health has just been so unreliable that he'd be almost impossible to count on in the first round of the fantasy playoffs. The best approach for owners would be to put Amendola on a "wait-and-see" week and start him in Week 15 if he plays well this Sunday, considering it a plus even if he's productive on your bench. There's too much downside this week.Score Prediction: Bills 24, Rams 21Chicago @ MinnesotaAP2K? On a scintillating tear of six consecutive games averaging six-plus yards per carry, Adrian Peterson has positioned himself to reach 2,000 rushing yards by averaging 138.5 per game over the final month. No longer an imposing matchup for opposing running backs, the Bears' defense has been lit up for 697 yards on 134 carries (5.20 YPC) across its last five games and will likely be without MLB Brian Urlacher (hamstring) for the regular season's remainder. Ride Peterson to the fantasy title. ... With Percy Harvin done for the year, Kyle Rudolph will be the only other Vikings player worth a weekly fantasy look. Chicago has allowed the third most receptions to tight ends, and Rudolph posted a respectable 5-55-1 line in these teams' November 25 meeting. ... Christian Ponder's updated target distribution in Harvin's three missed games this season: Rudolph 26, Jarius Wright and Jerome Simpson 16, Peterson 13, Michael Jenkins 10, and Toby Gerhart 3."I can't tell you what's in his head, but I can only see it on tape," NFL Films' Greg Cosell said of Ponder this week. "He's so lacking confidence in delivering the football. He moves when he doesn't have to, and he makes ill-advised throws. He's clearly not seeing things. And when a quarterback's not seeing things, they really have a hard time playing. ... So their offense is one-dimensional." ... Bears RCB Tim Jennings' (shoulder) absence doesn't improve Simpson's outlook much. Simpson can expect to be shadowed by Charles Tillman in what will be an easy win for Chicago's top cover corner. ... Wright will replace Harvin in the slot, but his limited role inevitably leads to clunker games. Wright played under 50 percent of the Vikings' Week 13 offensive snaps. He finished with one reception for 13 yards, and wasn't targeted until the final play of the game.Matt Forte's Week 12 ankle scare proved no worse than that as he racked up 24 touches, 96 yards, and a touchdown in last Sunday's loss to Seattle. Forte played 48-of-61 snaps (78.7 percent), while Michael Bush was limited to 13, picking up a rib injury along the way. The Vikings rank a relatively middling No. 14 in run defense. With his workload restored, Forte is a strong RB2 play in Week 14. ... Just 22nd in per-game scoring among fantasy quarterbacks this season, Jay Cutler is a two-quarterback league starter and nothing more so long as Chicago remains one of the NFL's run-heaviest teams. Only the Seahawks, 49ers, and Redskins have thrown the football less than the Bears this season. ... The return of rookie Alshon Jeffery should add some big-play ability to Chicago's offense, once he gets his legs back at least. Against the Vikings, Jeffery is unlikely to make an immediate difference in his return from in-season knee surgery. ... Just as Devin Hester figures to return this week from a concussion, Earl Bennett suffered his own concussion in Week 13. Neither is worth a fantasy roster spot. ... Brandon Marshall is the No. 3 overall fantasy wideout and racked up 12 catches in the aforementioned Week 12 Bears-Vikings game. Despite Chicago's low team pass attempts total, Marshall is third in the NFL in targets.Score Prediction: Bears 21, Vikings 174:05PM ET GameMiami @ San FranciscoJake Long couldn't have picked a worse time to tear his triceps. Long wasn't playing career-best football, but rookie replacement Jonathan Martin has been far worse at right tackle and will now attempt to block 49ers OLB Aldon Smith on Ryan Tannehill's blind side. Smith leads the NFL in sacks (17.5). It's a major concern for Miami's Week 14 pass game. ... It's difficult to imagine the Dolphins moving the ball offensively in this brutal road matchup, let alone scoring touchdowns. The Niners rank third against the run and shut down a previously red-hot Steven Jackson in Week 13, holding him to 48 scoreless yards on 21 carries (2.29 YPC). Although Reggie Bush is healthy and running well again, he's not being used as a workhorse, losing 17 touches to Daniel Thomas the past two games. Avoid Miami's backfield this week. ... Davone Bess will match up with 49ers slot CB Carlos Rogers for most of this contest, while the Niners' physical press coverage on the outside will make it very tough for Brian Hartline to find space on pass patterns. This could be an odd game where someone like Rishard Matthews or Charles Clay leads Miami in receiving. Fantasy owners shouldn't feel good about starting a single Dolphins skill-position player at San Francisco.Colin Kaepernick took a mild step back in Week 13 against a Rams team that played the 49ers tough in both of their 2012 meetings. The first resulted in a tie, the second in Kaepernick's first career loss. "I thought Kaepernick played okay last week," NFL Films' Greg Cosell said. "He had a few more plays that were not as positive. ... On the other hand, Delanie Walker dropped an easy touchdown late in the game, and then they would have won the game." So it isn't as if defenses have caught up to or figured out Kaepernick; he's more likely to bounce back against Miami's 27th-ranked pass defense than continue to regress. Kaepernick remains on the back-end QB1 radar with plenty of upside in a plus matchup. ... Kaepernick's updated target distribution on the year: Michael Crabtree 24, Vernon Davis and Mario Manningham 17, Randy Moss 12, Delanie Walker 9, Frank Gore 6. ... Manningham has battled an ongoing shoulder injury this season. It's cost him one game and rendered him ineffective in others, and he'll be a game-time decision in a late game Sunday. On pace for under 600 yards, Manningham's production isn't worth the sweat.
Saturday Update: Manningham (shoulder) was listed as doubtful on Friday's injury report and will almost certainly miss his second game of the season. Manningham's absence will mean more receiver snaps for Kyle Williams, Ted Ginn, and perhaps first-round pick A.J. Jenkins, who's yet to be active for a 2012 game. Ultimately, there is little to no foreseeable fantasy impact.Crabtree is the one 49ers pass catcher with whom Kaepernick has consistently connected. Over the past five weeks, Crabtree is the No. 26 receiver in per-game scoring and appears trustworthy as a WR3. ... Hindsight has shown that Kaepernick's rapport with Vernon Davis remains a work in progress, creating fantasy frustration. Davis has a plus Week 14 matchup versus a Miami team allowing the tenth most catches and third most yards to tight ends, but it would be understandable if owners were more inclined to sit him with just two catches for 15 yards on an underwhelming four targets the past two weeks. ... Miami's top-eight run defense was softened up in Week 13 for 109 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries by Patriots tailbacks. This is not an easy matchup for Frank Gore, but the workload is sure to be there, especially if San Francisco controls this game as it should. Fire up Gore as a volume runner in Week 14. He'll be a good bet for a goal-line score.Score Prediction: 49ers 23, Dolphins 7
1:00PM ET GamesTennessee @ IndianapolisThe Titans' offensive coordinator move from Chris Palmer to Dowell Loggains did have an on-field impact in Loggains' 2012 playcalling debut. Kenny Britt (66-of-75 plays) and Jared Cook (64) both experienced season-high snap counts and combined for 20 targets. Streaky quarterback Jake Locker's accuracy was an issue again, though, and both Britt (2-40-1) and Cook (4-51-0) wound up with relatively disappointing stats. Tennessee goes from facing Houston's No. 6 defense to Indy's 21st-ranked group this week, so easier sledding should be in store for Titans offensive skill-position players. ... One obstacle standing in the way of Locker & Co., however, is a decimated offensive line. Tennessee already lost RG Leroy Harris (ACL) and C Eugene Amano (triceps) to I.R. In Week 13, LG Steve Hutchinson (knee) and RT David Stewart (fractured leg) suffered year-ending injuries. Locker has a tendency to play too fast and frenetic under pressure, so the up-front casualties are concerning for his outlook. He's a dicey two-quarterback league option in Week 14. ... The line deterioration is also worrisome for Chris Johnson, although simply running harder has been the real key to his turnaround. Last week's stat line (13-51, 4-20) was attributable to a big early deficit. So long as he continues to hit lanes with purpose and finish off his runs, Johnson should get back on track against a Colts defense that ranks 22nd versus the run and permits 4.78 yards per carry.No. 1 receiver stats against the Colts over the past five weeks: Brian Hartline 8-107, Cecil Shorts 6-105-1, Wes Welker 7-80, Stevie Johnson 6-106, and Calvin Johnson 13-171-1. Kendall Wright led Tennessee in Week 13 receptions (6-78) and Nate Washington (3-96) had the most yards, but the Titans still fancy Britt as their No. 1 pass option. "He caught the nice touchdown pass today," coach Mike Munchak said of Britt after last week's loss. "That's hopefully a sign of things to come. You want to see more of that, obviously. ... It's just a matter of us finding ways to get bigger plays out of him." Start Britt as a WR3 at Indy, and ignore Wright and Washington, whom Tennessee views as complementary pieces. ... The Colts have been shredded by tight ends in their last three games, with Detroit, Buffalo, and New England TEs combining for 17 receptions, 267 yards, and four TDs against them in Weeks 11-13. There are more stable Week 14 tight end plays out there than Cook, but he should appeal to upside seekers. Loggains wants to get him the ball, and Cook wants to finish fast in his contract year.Donald Brown's likely multi-week ankle injury locks in Vick Ballard as the Colts' every-down back, and he'll bring 20-touch workhorse potential into Sunday's matchup with Tennessee's bottom-six run defense. "Boy I really like Vick Ballard," NFL Films' Greg Cosell stated on Adam Caplan's Week 14 Preview Podcast. "I think he's a good back. ... He's a very good receiver, by the way." Although Ballard's lack of big-play run skills limits his upside, the Colts have shown a willingness to lean on him as a chain mover and borderline every-down back, playing him ahead of Brown and Delone Carter in passing situations. The matchup and bellcow role combine to make Ballard a relatively appealing flex play. ... The Titans rank 26th against the pass and have allowed the second most passing touchdowns in the NFL. Meanwhile, Andrew Luck is the No. 2 fantasy quarterback over the past five weeks, behind only Cam Newton. The domed environs of Lucas Oil Stadium, a bad Tennessee defense, and his improving rapport with a rookie-laden supporting cast make Luck a strong QB1 in Week 14. ... Top-eight fantasy receiver Reggie Wayne touched up the Titans for 91 yards on seven catches in these teams' late-October meeting, and Tennessee has shown little or no defensive improvement since. Keep riding Wayne as he quietly racks up career-best stats with a rookie quarterbacking a pass-first attack.Luck's target distribution over the past five games: Wayne 61, T.Y. Hilton 44, Donnie Avery 40, Dwayne Allen 31, LaVon Brazill 16, Ballard 14, Brown 7, Coby Fleener 2. ... Avery caught a pair of touchdowns last week, but the target numbers accurately reflect that Hilton is Luck's second favorite receiver, even if the rookie plays fewer weekly snaps. "I've been really impressed with Hilton as a route runner," Cosell said. "... I thought he'd be a perfect slot guy, and he obviously has that skill set, but he's lining up wide -- outside the numbers -- and winning. The 60-yarder he caught (last) week against Drayton Florence, he ran an unbelievable route. He looks very, very good." Hilton is the preferred WR3 over Avery going forward. ... Fleener's healthy return muddles Indianapolis' tight end situation in terms of weekly fantasy reliability. Allen is the better player of the two, but experienced a three-week low in targets (5) despite the fact that the Colts were in pass-happy comeback mode for most of last week's game against the Lions. Targeted just twice, Fleener secured his one reception for a 26-yard touchdown. This has become a situation to avoid.Score Prediction: Colts 28, Titans 20Dallas @ CincinnatiThe mismatch that stands out when breaking down these two teams is the Bengals' ferocious, aggressive front four versus Dallas' leaky offensive line. All three interior positions and right tackle have been major problem areas for the Cowboys up front. Cincinnati attacks the interior with NFL-best defensive tackle Geno Atkins, and re-charged LE Carlos Dunlap returns from a two-sack, two-forced fumble game to take on turnstile RT Doug Free. Tony Romo has masked Dallas' pass-protection woes in recent weeks, but this game has disaster written all over it. I couldn't bring myself to start Romo in a standard league. ... The overall production of Dallas' passing game may be down in Week 14, but Dez Bryant is on a wicked tear. "Dez is growing before our eyes," coach Jason Garrett said in last Sunday's post-game presser. Indeed. Bryant leads all running backs, receivers, and tight ends in fantasy points over the past three weeks, playing with efficiency and relentlessly ripping off big plays. He's surged to No. 5 in fantasy receiver scoring, behind only A.J. Green, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, and Demaryius Thomas. Dez is an every-week WR1. ... Romo's target distribution during Dez's team-carrying three-game stretch: Bryant 32, Jason Witten 31, Miles Austin and Cole Beasley 16, Dwayne Harris 11, Felix Jones 8, Kevin Ogletree 5.Cincinnati has permitted the eighth most fantasy points to tight ends, creating a plus matchup for Witten. On pace for a career-high 118 receptions, Witten is due to hit pay dirt with just one TD on the year. ... If the Bengals "play sides" at cornerback, Bryant will spend most of this game in the coverage of RCB Pacman Jones and 34-year-old LCB Terence Newman on the perimeter. Austin would deal with top CB Leon Hall, whom Cincinnati has used in the slot recently when opponents go three wide. I don't think Austin has a great matchup, I don't think Romo will throw for a ton of yards, and I think Austin has taken a clear backseat in Dallas' passing offense as the No. 3 option behind Bryant and Witten. Austin is a mid-range to low-end WR3 in this game. ... While DeMarco Murray wasn't quite 100 percent in his first game back from a six-week foot injury in Week 13, he still displayed impressive straight-line burst and handled a season-high 27 touches. Consider him a locked-in RB2 going forward. Cincinnati's defensive line gets up field as a pass-rushing group, but it's less stout versus the run. ... Ogletree continues to play ahead Beasley and Harris, but his snaps have been declining for weeks. Avoid Dallas' third receiver committee in fantasy leagues.BenJarvus Green-Ellis rarely gets much love in this space. He's a volume-dependent, plodding runner lacking big-play ability and a role in the passing game. But Green-Ellis has put together three straight 100-plus-yard games, and he has a favorable Week 14 matchup. The Cowboys are decimated up the middle with both starting inside linebackers on I.R., and NT Jay Ratliff nursing a debilitating groin injury. Washington and Philly's rushing offenses have combined to light up Rob Ryan's defense for 332 yards and three touchdowns on 58 carries (5.72 YPC) the past two weeks. Talent limitations will inevitably catch up to Green-Ellis, but fantasy owners should ride him while he's hot and receiving monster workloads. Complementary back Cedric Peerman's ankle injury ensures the latter will be the case. ... Due to the losses of ILBs Bruce Carter (elbow) and Sean Lee (toe), Dallas is also vulnerable in pass coverage over the middle. It showed up in last week's win over the Eagles, as TE Brent Celek and slot man Jason Avant combined for 152 yards on 11 receptions. Top-ten fantasy tight end Jermaine Gresham figures to stay in to help LT Andrew Whitworth block DeMarcus Ware on a fair number of snaps in Week 14, but Gresham should be open whenever he breaks into a pass route. He's a respectable TE1 play against the Cowboys.The Cowboys opened the season playing shutdown pass defense, but they've been exposed by rookie quarterbacks the past three weeks. Brandon Weeden, Robert Griffin III, and Nick Foles combined to complete 61-of-96 throws (63.5 percent) for 765 yards (7.97 YPA), and a 7:1 TD-to-INT ratio against Dallas in Weeks 11-13. Andy Dalton is the No. 10 fantasy quarterback, and a viable back-end QB1 in this matchup. ... A.J. Green leads the NFL in receiving TDs and all wide receivers in fantasy scoring. He should lick his chops for a Week 14 date with struggling $50.1 million CB Brandon Carr. ... Rookie Marvin Jones has replaced injured Mohamed Sanu as the Bengals' No. 2 receiver. Jones played 69-of-78 snaps (88.5 percent) in last week's win over San Diego, but was targeted only three times, dropping one and catching two for 20 yards. While Jones is an interesting long-term prospect, he's not on the re-draft radar. ... Returning from a two-week knee injury, slot man Andrew Hawkins was a 72-percent player against the Chargers. He ranked second behind Green on the Bengals in Week 13 targets (8), pulling in five for 47 yards. "Baby Hawk" is a WR5 in PPR. He offers even less in touchdown- and yardage-heavy leagues.Score Prediction: Bengals 23, Cowboys 20San Diego @ PittsburghI've discussed the sorry state of the Chargers' offense in this space in each of the past two weeks. It's getting worse. Already having lost LT Jared Gaither (groin) for the season, the Bolts will be minus LG Tyronne Green (hamstring), fill-in LT Mike Harris (ankle), and RT Jeromey Clary (knee) against Pittsburgh's No. 1 defense. The primary cause of Philip Rivers' struggles has been his reaction to pressure, including sensing heat when it isn't even there. And he'll now be playing behind a rag-tag offensive line. With SS Troy Polamalu progressing back into a full-time role, San Diego's pass offense will have a difficult time generating first downs at Heinz Field. Expect little from Rivers, and Malcom Floyd versus improving Steelers LCB Keenan Lewis. ... Rivers' target distribution since Danario Alexander became a starter four games ago: Alexander 36, Floyd 25, Ryan Mathews 22, Antonio Gates 19, Ronnie Brown 18, Eddie Royal 8, Robert Meachem 3. ... Alexander is the lone Chargers skill player worth serious Week 14 start consideration. Locked in as San Diego's go-to receiver, D.X. should benefit from the absence of Steelers RCB Ike Taylor (right fibula). The Ravens picked on fill-in RCB Cortez Allen last week, as Allen was beaten for a 28-yard touchdown by Anquan Boldin and also flagged for a 30-yard pass interference penalty.Chargers coaches have determined that Mathews is incapable of being the franchise back for their team. His 2012 performance has done nothing to make that notion unwarranted. Even when he's stopped fumbling, Mathews has remained prone to on-field errors. He drew the ire of Rivers last week for blowing a route on a designed halfback screen. Mathews has run tentatively, leaving yards on the field en route to a career-low 4.00 YPC average. He's not trusted in critical situations. This is a great week to sit Mathews in fantasy because Pittsburgh fields a top-five run defense, and his playing time may bottom out if superior pass protector Brown is needed for an increased role due to the O-Line casualties. Mathews is a weak flex option in Week 14. ... Like Mathews, Gates is a fantasy bust. Unlike Mathews, Gates is still an effective football player. Combined with its overall offensive ineptitude, San Diego's lack of a threatening perimeter presence has put a defensive bulls-eye on Gates more often than not. He's failed to get open against double teams and bracket coverage. Rivers targets Gates 4-5 times a game. The Steelers have allowed the fewest fantasy points to tight ends in the AFC this season. So look elsewhere for TE1s this week.The Steelers figure to ease Ben Roethlisberger back into the lineup after a three-game absence due to rib and shoulder injuries. San Diego is playing top-nine defense, so fantasy owners should be wary of immediately re-anointing Big Ben a fantasy starter. "The (Steelers) have obviously committed a lot more to the run game," NFL Films' Greg Cosell stated this week. "... I think the days of Roethlisberger throwing it 40 times are over, unless the game demands it. And I don't think this game will demand it." Expect a low-scoring, physical affair as Roethlisberger gets back into the swing of things. ... The one factor that could spur Pittsburgh playcaller Todd Haley into pass-first mode would be sheer ineffectiveness from his run game. The Chargers rank sixth against the run and get back edge-setting run-defender OLB Jarret Johnson from a back injury this week. Jonathan Dwyer has taken over as the Steelers' lead back, but he's hardly set the league ablaze with 179 yards on 56 carries (3.20 YPC) over the last four games. He also "lost" nine carries to Isaac Redman in Week 13. Dwyer is a dicey, low-upside flex play in a tough matchup this week.Even if Roethlisberger doesn't instantaneously resume peppering opponents with pass targets, his return is a big plus for the outlooks of Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, and Heath Miller. Brown showed in last week's win over Baltimore that his midseason high ankle sprain has fully healed, picking up 62 yards on six touches. He also resumed returning punts. Brown is a worthy WR3 roll of the dice in a matchup with Chargers slow-footed, 33-year-old LCB Quentin Jammer. ... Even if he's lost a small dose of playing time to Emmanuel Sanders in recent weeks, Wallace's big-play ability makes him an enticing WR2 because San Diego struggles to defend fast-twitch speed receivers. Torrey Smith is similar to Wallace, and Smith ate up Jammer and RCB Antoine Cason for 144 yards on seven receptions two weeks ago. Wallace will draw Cason for the majority of Sunday's snaps. Cason is the Chargers' weak link in the secondary. ... Miller will be better off with Ben under center going forward, but he does have a difficult Week 14 matchup. Stifling tight ends with FS Eric Weddle, San Diego has permitted the fourth fewest fantasy points in the league to the position. I personally would opt for a Martellus Bennett or Tony Scheffler over Heath this week.Score Prediction: Steelers 20, Chargers 13
Kansas City @ ClevelandGood ole hindsight tells us that the Browns made a commitment to Trent Richardson as their offensive foundation player during the Week 10 bye. Whereas Richardson reached 20 carries in just 2-of-9 games before the open date, he's hit 20 in all three since while operating as an every-down workhorse. Bucking the mythical notion that rookie running backs struggle -- along with Doug Martin and Alfred Morris -- Richardson is the No. 5 overall fantasy player at his position. He's a legit RB1 squaring off with Kansas City's No. 26 run defense. ... The Browns' passing game returns from Brandon Weeden's 364-yard scorching of an uncompetitive Oakland defense to face a similarly leaky Chiefs group. Kansas City has surrendered a league-high 25 touchdown throws, and no defense permits a higher quarterback rating (103.0) against. Top CB Brandon Flowers and ILB Derrick Johnson also missed practice time this week with hamstring injuries. Weeden has sneaky two-QB league potential as a Week 14 matchup play. "I think he's improved," NFL Films' Greg Cosell observed of Weeden this week. "I think that he's a solid NFL quarterback, with a good arm and a chance to be a little better than a solid NFL quarterback."No team has been thrown against less than Kansas City in 2012, yet it's still permitted the 12th most 20-plus-yard pass plays in football, and the third most 40-plus-yard completions. Particularly with Flowers banged up, the Chiefs are going to be highly susceptible to vertical shot plays. The intermediate to deep sections of the field are where Josh Gordon butters his bread. "I think he's a deceptive vertical speed guy," Cosell said of Gordon. "I think he's a speed-cut receiver. He's not a quick in-and-out-of-break guy, but there's a lot of receivers like that in the NFL. Even great receivers. ... I think that he's got a chance to be a pretty good receiver. The kid can run." Gordon is a high-upside WR3 play in Week 14. ... Weeden's target distribution since Cleveland's Week 10 bye: Gordon 21, Ben Watson 20, Richardson 17, Greg Little 13, Jordan Cameron 9, Mohamed Massaquoi 8. ... Beyond rookies T-Rich and Gordon, Watson is the only Browns skill-position guy seeing the ball regularly enough to be taken seriously in fantasy lineup decisions. On Sunday, he'll face a Chiefs defense allowing the NFL's third fewest catches and fifth fewest yards to tight ends.Brady Quinn's surprisingly competent Week 13 performance has created more questions than answers. Can he keep it up? Is there even a chance? Quinn's combined career stats coming off 200-plus-yard games -- he's done it four times before -- are 53-of-120 (44.2 percent) for 536 yards (4.47 YPA), and a 0:1 TD-to-INT ratio. Throughout Quinn's six-year career, he has consistently proven incapable of sustaining a passing attack. Now facing an underrated and quietly surging Browns defense on the road, I think the best approach for fantasy owners is to chalk up last week as a fluke. Dwayne Bowe (4-64 in Week 13) will see Joe Haden's shadow coverage in Week 14 and is no better than an unreliable WR3 with lots of downside. Tony Moeaki returns from his season-best game (4-54-1) to face a Cleveland defense permitting the sixth fewest fantasy points to tight ends. Jon Baldwin (2-37-1) has not cleared 40 receiving yards since September. Slot receiver Dexter McCluster (2-16) has been a non-factor regardless of how well Quinn has played.Amid the Chiefs' 2012 buffoonery, Jamaal Charles has stood out as a reliable big-play contributor and legit offensive weapon. And to the Kansas City coaching staff's credit, they've been feeding him the rock with regularity over the past month. Charles has received 20 or more touches in four consecutive games, and broken off at least 100 total yards in all four. His yards-per-carry average across that span is 4.68. Black-hole back Peyton Hillis vultured a first-quarter goal-line touchdown in last week's upset of Carolina, but for the most part has stayed out of Charles' way. The Browns rank a respectable 16th against the run and have played even better than that statistic indicates in recent games, but Charles has delivered borderline RB1 stats in more difficult matchups than this one all season. He should be locked into fantasy lineups every week. Hillis is not worth owning.Score Prediction: Browns 23, Chiefs 14Philadelphia @ Tampa BayJosh Freeman's production has slowed a bit off his red-hot midseason stretch, but his Week 14 matchup is ripe for the picking. "The two corners in the secondary have shut it down," NFL Network's Deion Sanders observed of Philadelphia's defensive backfield this week. "They're not covering anybody." Since the Week 7 firing of DC Juan Castillo, the Eagles have allowed opposing passers to complete 116-of-152 throws (76.3 percent) for 1,319 yards (8.68 YPA), 16 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Quarterbacks are cutting up Philly's pass "defense" like a hot knife through butter. ... Vincent Jackson will spend most of this game in RCB Nnamdi Asomugha's coverage, while Mike Williams draws LCB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Shake off V-Jax's Week 13 shutdown by Champ Bailey and start him as a top-ten receiver against declining Asomugha. ... Rodgers-Cromartie still can't tackle a lick -- see Dez Bryant's second touchdown last week -- but he's at least held his own in coverage and will likely make it difficult for Williams to get open. Averaging 55 yards over his last seven games, Williams is a viable, if somewhat risky WR3 in Week 14.Dallas Clark has three touchdowns in his last four games, but he's prone to inconsistency as a 54-percent player on offense. OC Mike Sullivan won't increase Clark's role, either, because he gets blown up as a blocker. The Eagles rank 19th in fantasy points allowed to tight ends, so the matchup isn't attractive enough to springboard Clark onto the TE1 radar. ... The Bucs are a virtual lock to generate consistent ball movement Sunday because Philly's defense is so bad. This game has sneaky shootout potential. A high-scoring affair versus a bad team could be just the recipe Doug Martin needs to bust his recent yards-per-carry slump. Martin has been held to 106 yards on 39 carries (2.72 YPC) the past two weeks. The Eagles rank 18th against the run and in no way present an imposing matchup for Tampa Bay's every-down back. Start Martin as a top-ten RB1.Bryce Brown has now fumbled four times on 75 career carries, but the Philly coaching staff's commitment to its seventh-round pick is promising. Even after last week's back-breaking fourth-quarter fumble-six at Dallas, Brown was left in the game and played every remaining snap, including a two-point conversion attempt down 38-33. Brown runs with special explosiveness, racking up 347 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries (8.07 YPC) in his last eight quarters of action. Brown is an every-down back oozing big-play ability and should be locked into Week 14 fantasy lineups despite a matchup with Tampa's No. 1 run defense. One potential positive for Brown's outlook would be the absence of Bucs DT Roy Miller (concussion). A run-stopping specialist at nose tackle, Miller has enjoyed a bit of a breakout season in a contract year. ... Nick Foles finally played competently and under control in the Cowboys loss, connecting on three 20-plus-yard pass plays and giving Philly a downfield threat to complement Brown's dominant rushing attack. Even in Foles' previous poor performances, he showed an innate ability to manipulate the pocket with subtle movements, evading the rush. Foles is still a promising talent with a big arm, and he's worth a look in two-quarterback leagues against the Bucs' last-ranked pass defense.Foles' updated target distribution on the season: Jeremy Maclin 26, Brent Celek 21, Riley Cooper 19, DeSean Jackson 17, Brown 12, Clay Harbor 11, Damaris Johnson 7, Stanley Havili and Jason Avant 6. ... Maclin's production has underwhelmed the past three weeks, but he'll be a high-upside WR3 with Foles coming on strong in a mouth-watering matchup. Fantasy owners should not write Maclin off. ... Avant (4-79) and Celek (7-73) were Philadelphia's leading receivers in Week 13 for what appeared to be game plan-specific reasons. The Eagles identified a Dallas defense missing both inside linebackers as vulnerable over the middle and attacked with its tight end and slot receiver. The Bucs, on the other hand, are strong up the middle but susceptible on the perimeter after losing both starting corners, RCB Eric Wright to suspension and LCB Aqib Talib to trade. Look for Maclin to be heavily involved at Tampa, while Avant and Celek take more of a backseat.Score Prediction: Buccaneers 27, Eagles 21NY Jets @ JacksonvilleThe Jets this week decided to reinsert Mark Sanchez as their starting quarterback after yanking him in the third quarter of last Sunday's game at Arizona. Greg McElroy led a game-winning TD drive against the Cardinals, but the Jets operate on a zero-accountability policy and have turned back to their faux-franchise passer. To the Jets' credit, however, they're keeping Sanchez on a short leash. "There was a serious difference of opinion about what to do," ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reported Wednesday, hours after coach Rex Ryan recommitted to Sanchez. "He said that if Mark Sanchez struggled against Jacksonville, he would 'absolutely' bench Sanchez just like he did last week. ... It sounds like (Sanchez) has a very short leash and Rex Ryan is ready to pull the plug." Ryan also told both the Jacksonville and New York medias that Tim Tebow -- not McElroy -- will be the Jets' backup this week. Potential in-game quarterback musical chairs, and a complete lack of upside even if Sanchez does last four quarters, ought to render Jets pass catchers hands-off in Week 14 fantasy lineup decisions. ... Dustin Keller might be the one guy worth a look, but Keller suffered a significant ankle sprain against the Cardinals and has been ineffective when trying to play at less than 100 percent. The Jaguars also allow the fifth fewest fantasy points to tight ends.The Jets' run game has deteriorated into a hot-hand backfield comprised of plodders Bilal Powell and Shonn Greene. Both backs are averaging under 4.0 yards a carry, and neither possesses any hint of big-play ability. Powell got the start in last week's "win" over the Cardinals, only to give way to Greene, who registered his second 100-yard effort of the year in a dozen tries. The Jets figure to have some Week 14 rushing success against Jacksonville's 31st-ranked run defense, but there is no anointed feature back in the timeshare, and weekly goal-line carries are always up for grabs. Start Jets running backs at your own low-upside risk. ... Jeremy Kerley is the lone Jets wideout even remotely on the fantasy radar at this point. Facing the Jaguars' No. 28 pass defense, Kerley might be start-able if New York had a competent quarterback. Unfortunately, he has cleared 60 receiving yards in just one of his last five games and belongs on waiver wires in standard leagues.The Jags will trot out their fourth different starting tailback of the season in Week 14 when special teamer/fullback Montell Owens gets the nod against the Jets. Owens, 28, has toted the rock 21 career times for 112 yards (5.33 YPC) and two touchdowns. On 40 preseason carries, he's gained 116 yards (2.90 YPC) and scored once. While Marcel Reece in Oakland showed us this season that versatile fullbacks can't be ruled out as potential fantasy assets, it would be a stretch to consider Owens a top-24 fantasy running back play, even against the Jets' bottom-four run defense. ... If Owens can't spark the Jaguars running game Sunday -- and here's guessing he's a long shot to -- Jacksonville's offense will struggle to generate ball movement and points. The Jets are a terrible team, but they still field a top-four pass defense and can take away No. 1 receivers with Antonio Cromartie's shadow coverage. This isn't a week to get excited about Chad Henne.Henne's updated target distribution on the year: Cecil Shorts 35, Justin Blackmon 30, Marcedes Lewis 18, Jordan Shipley 9, Kevin Elliott 8, Rashad Jennings and Jalen Parmele 7, Owens 2. ... Also working against the outlook of Jacksonville's offense is the expected Week 14 absence of top wideout Cecil Shorts (concussion). Undrafted rookie Elliott will enter the starting lineup, and Cromartie will be assigned to shadow Blackmon. Since Darrelle Revis' Week 3 ACL tear, here are the statistical lines of receivers covered by Cromartie: Brian Hartline (twice) 1-41, 4-41; Michael Crabtree 2-15; Andre Johnson 1-15; Reggie Wayne 5-87; Brandon Lloyd (twice) 1-6, 3-26; Sidney Rice 2-54-2; Chris Givens 4-19; Larry Fitzgerald 1-23. Last week, Bills rookie Stephon Gilmore shut down Blackmon to the tune of one reception for nine yards. Could Cromartie hold Blackmon to negative fantasy points? ... By simple process of elimination, perhaps Lewis will deliver a solid fantasy day. The Jets have allowed the 11th most fantasy points in the league to tight ends.Score Prediction: Jaguars 9, Jets 6Atlanta @ CarolinaCatching fire since midseason, Cam Newton has posted a 9:2 TD-to-INT ratio as a passer with three rushing touchdowns over his last five games. He would've thrown four TD passes last week -- and the Panthers would have won -- had Brandon LaFell not dropped a perfectly-placed 52-yard scoring bomb against Kansas City. No quarterback has scored more fantasy points in the past five weeks, and Cam's overall fantasy QB ranking has surged to No. 6 overall, behind only RG3, Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Peyton. Newton is making owners who had enough foresight to buy low after a relatively slow first half look awfully fantasy-savvy right about now. In Carolina's Week 4 game at Atlanta, Newton completed 15-of-24 passes (62.5 percent) for 215 yards (8.96 YPA), two touchdowns, and no interceptions, and rushed nine times for 86 yards and a third score. Keep riding Cam down the stretch. ... Steve Smith draws RCB Dunta Robinson in coverage on a heavy majority of snaps when the Panthers play Atlanta, and he's totaled 187 yards and nine catches in their last two matchups. Coming off a 5-120-1 line at Kansas City, lock in Smith as a high-end WR2 in Week 14. ... Newton's target distribution during the five-game hot stretch: Smith 37, Greg Olsen 34, LaFell 26, Louis Murphy 13, Mike Tolbert 11, Jonathan Stewart 7, DeAngelo Williams 3.LaFell spent the past week in a walking boot battling turf toe and will be replaced by Murphy in the starting lineup, squaring off with Falcons LCB Asante Samuel. Look for Olsen to be the primary box-score beneficiary of LaFell's absence against an Atlanta defense surrendering the ninth most yards to tight ends. ... Stewart's high ankle sprain will sideline him again this week. Williams' combined stats in Stewart's three missed games this year: 116 yards on 29 carries (4.0 YPC), and four catches for 29 yards. Despite golden opportunities against the Chiefs (No. 26 run defense), Giants (21st), and Bucs, Williams hasn't scored a touchdown in any of those three games. The Falcons rank 20th against the run and have been vulnerable on the ground all year, but Williams has established himself as a bottom-barrel flex play. He's the No. 43 overall fantasy running back.In the aforementioned Panthers-Falcons meeting, Atlanta successfully and relentlessly attacked Carolina's suspect safeties, specifically Week 4 goat-of-the-game FS Haruki Nakamura. Roddy White beat Nakamura for 49- and 14-yard touchdowns, in addition to a 59-yard Hail Mary bomb on the Falcons' game-winning drive. Nakamura also blew a tackle on Michael Turner's 60-yard TD reception. Nakamura had since lost his starting job, but he'll get it back Sunday after Sherrod Martin tore his ACL and MCL in Week 13. It should be music to the ears of White and Matt Ryan. ... Julio Jones returned healthy from an ankle injury two games ago. Ryan's target distribution since: Jones 17, White 14, Tony Gonzalez 10, Jason Snelling 8, Harry Douglas 5, Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers 4. ... Julio's production has been a bit up and down as the Falcons' one-dimensionality has caught up to their offense, but there's every reason to think Jones can get back on track versus overmatched Panthers fifth-round rookie RCB Josh Norman. Through 12 games, Pro Football Focus ranks Norman 105th out of 112 qualifying corners in pass coverage.In Ryan's last four meetings with Carolina, he's gone 83-of-132 (62.9 percent) for 1,088 yards (8.24 YPA) and a 10:1 TD-to-INT ratio, chipping in an 11th touchdown on a rushing score. Ryan's three-week statistical lull has been well documented, but he's much more likely to pick it up than regress. ... The Panthers have been middling against tight ends this year, allowing the 14th most fantasy points to the position. Gonzalez remains a quality TE1 play, but it wouldn't be crazy for tight end-rich owners to consider someone like Martellus Bennett (vs. NO) or Owen Daniels (@ NE) over him, based purely on matchups. ... Rodgers has played more snaps than Turner in three straight weeks as Atlanta's backfield devolves into a true timeshare. Turner had more fantasy production in Week 13; Quizz led the scoring the week before. The Week 14 matchup is favorable versus Carolina's No. 25 run defense, but Rodgers and Turner are both dicey flex options. Turner is heavily reliant on goal-line chances. Even though Rodgers plays more offensive snaps, he sees fewer touches and would likely need to break off a big play in order to prove a worthwhile start.Score Prediction: Panthers 27, Falcons 24
4:25PM ET GamesArizona @ SeattleRussell Wilson is on pace for a 26:11 TD-to-INT ratio this year. Only ten current qualifying starting quarterbacks have a better completion rate than Wilson's 63.4, and his 7.39 yards-per-attempt average is superior to more ballyhooed rookie Andrew Luck's. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his rookie-year game, however, has been Wilson's ability to elevate the performance of his teammates. Golden Tate is on pace for a career-best year. So is Marshawn Lynch. Sidney Rice was left for dead in some circles entering the year, but he's been rejuvenated as the No. 21 overall fantasy receiver. This week's popular notion that Wilson is a QB1 candidate would be too bold for my taste against Arizona's No. 3 pass defense, but he's certainly settled in as one of the better QB2s going. He's an every-week starter in two-quarterback leagues. ... Rice can expect to be shadowed by Cards top CB Patrick Peterson Sunday in a difficult matchup that should render Rice more WR3 than the WR2 he's produced like. This game projects as low scoring, and I'd prefer to roll with someone like Kenny Britt, T.Y. Hilton, or Antonio Brown in this particular week.Wilson's target distribution since Seattle's Week 11 bye: Rice 12, Tate 11, Zach Miller and Doug Baldwin 9, Marshawn Lynch 6. ... The low two-game target counts across the board are a reminder that the Seahawks throw the ball less frequently than any NFL team. On a weekly basis, relying on Seattle pass catchers can be risky business because there just isn't any volume. ... Tate has playmaking ability and a favorable matchup if Peterson sticks to Rice, but the fact that his week-to-week ceiling is about seven targets prevents Tate from realizing stable WR3 value. ... As is usually the case, the most likely means of Seattle generating offense in this game will be on the ground. Arizona ranks 24th against the run, and Lynch is the No. 6 overall fantasy running back. So get your Skittles ready.Beanie Wells has managed 59 yards on his last 30 carries (1.97 YPC). He's looked as sluggish on the field as the stats suggest, and Wells needs to be on fantasy benches versus Seattle's top-12 run defense. ... Can the return of John Skelton spark Larry Fitzgerald? In Skelton's five starts this year, Fitz has averaged four catches for 46 yards with one touchdown. It's better production than Fitzgerald had with Ryan Lindley, at least. Seahawks RCB Brandon Browner's suspension makes Fitzgerald more interesting. If LCB Richard Sherman isn't employed in shadow coverage, Fitz will square off with Walter Thurmond III on plenty of Sunday's snaps. He's back on the WR3 radar. ... It's safe to write off Andre Roberts, Rob Housler, Michael Floyd, and Early Doucet for the remainder of fantasy season. They'll be more likely to let you down than help from here on out.Score Prediction: Seahawks 23, Cardinals 10New Orleans @ NY GiantsAs you might expect, Saints-Giants has the highest over-under of Week 14 at 53 points. Ordinarily "borderline" fantasy starters like Martellus Bennett and Lance Moore should be upgraded on this week's cheatsheets, with your studs already locked in. ... Jimmy Graham's production sagged in Week 13 (4-59) because he spent much of the Thursday nighter chipping defensive ends due to blocking specialist TE David Thomas' absence. Thomas (knee) returned to full practices this week, which will free up Graham to run clean routes. The Giants have allowed the sixth most receptions and eighth most yards to tight ends. Expect a bounce-back game from Graham. ... Drew Brees was intercepted a career-high five times in last week's loss to Atlanta. Brees has thrown three or more interceptions on six occasions over the past five seasons. His combined stats in games coming off the three-plus-pick efforts are 154-of-212 (72.6 percent) for 1,697 yards (8.00 YPC), and a 15:4 TD-to-INT ratio. The Giants' talented defensive line is capable of causing New Orleans' passing offense problems, but their secondary is prone to blown coverages enough that Brees is far more likely to rebound from last week's clunker rather than play poorly again. Brees is the No. 4 fantasy quarterback, and New York ranks 22nd against the pass. Trot him out.Marques Colston is on pace for 82 catches, 1,104 yards, and 11 touchdowns in what projects as the second best fantasy season of his seven-year career. He's a borderline WR1 in this possible shootout. ... Lance Moore's inconsistency makes him a difficult weekly projection, but he's cleared 90 yards or found pay dirt in three of his last four games and is paying off as a WR3 more often than not. ... Darren Sproles hasn't carried the football since he returned from his fractured hand two games ago. Sproles hasn't so much as gained a rushing yard since Week 7. He's staying on the weekly flex radar in PPR leagues with receiving value, but Sproles is no longer an appealing standard-league play. ... The Giants are vulnerable in run defense, ranking 21st in that category and allowing a generous 4.64 yards per carry. Unfortunately, neither Mark Ingram nor Chris Ivory has stepped forward as a reliable standard-scoring fantasy option. Ingram's carry total has dropped in three consecutive weeks, while Ivory has received double-digit rushing attempts just once all year. With bye weeks out of the way, Ingram and Ivory are no more than bench depth. ... Rounding out the Saints' logjam, four-man backfield, Pierre Thomas' week-to-week workloads have been totally unpredictable. Like Ivory and Ingram, Thomas is not worth a Week 14 fantasy start.Keep an eye on Hakeem Nicks (knee) into Sunday morning, but most signs as this column was written early Friday afternoon suggested that the Giants expect him to play. They've also made an all-out effort to feature Nicks the past two weeks. Eli Manning's target distribution since the Week 11 bye: Nicks 23, Victor Cruz 14, Martellus Bennett 10, Ahmad Bradshaw 5, Rueben Randle 4. ... Even if the target totals indicate otherwise, Cruz is the strongest Giants receiver play in Week 14. Coming off a five-catch, 104-yard outing at Washington, Cruz will square off with a New Orleans defense that has struggled in slot coverage throughout the season. Saints top CBs Jabari Greer and Patrick Robinson play almost strictly on the perimeter. Rookie Corey White, Johnny Patrick, and special teamer Elbert Mack have been mixed and matched on the inside, with none of the three playing well. Cruz is a WR1 in this matchup. ... A healthy Bennett adds a dangerous element to the Giants' passing attack, and he looked rejuvenated against the Redskins, running at full-boar down the seam en route to five catches, 82 yards, and a TD. New Orleans allows the seventh most fantasy points to tight ends, and the high-scoring outlook for Saints-Giants makes Bennett a very attractive start. The Saints can't generate pass pressure without blitzing, so Bennett should run plenty of patterns rather than being forced to stay on the line to block for most of this game.Since the Week 11 open date, Bradshaw has racked up 161 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries (4.74 YPC). His workload has increased with Andre Brown (fractured leg) no longer in the picture, and Bradshaw matches up with the Saints' last-ranked run defense in Week 14. He's an easy top-15 running back play. ... While the Week 11 bye seemingly worked wonders for Bradshaw, Eli's accuracy has continued to be an issue and I think it's fair to question whether he's 100 percent healthy. He's missing so many throws. Facing the NFL's No. 30 pass defense keeps Eli in the QB1 mix, but his actual on-field performance remains a long-term concern, for both forward-looking fantasy owners and the Giants' playoff hopes. New York has a brutal schedule down the stretch, heading to Atlanta and Baltimore in Weeks 15-16. The Giants also have the worst division record of the NFC East's three postseason contenders, which could come back to haunt them if they don't win three of their final four. ... Despite Brown's injury, the Giants showed no inclination to use first-round pick David Wilson as more than a change-up back during last week's loss to Washington. He toted it four times for nine yards and is merely a late-season fantasy stash.Score Prediction: Giants 28, Saints 27
Sunday Night FootballDetroit @ Green BayTight end-strapped fantasy owners should look no further than Tony Scheffler in Week 14. With Ryan Broyles and Titus Young both on injured reserve, Scheffler will be Detroit's No. 3 receiver at Green Bay, operating as a full-time wideout along with Calvin Johnson and Mike Thomas. He'll play extensively in the slot, matching up with linebackers and undrafted rookie S M.D. Jennings. Scheffler will also run a high volume of pass routes because Green Bay is so pass rush-deficient without OLB Clay Matthews (hamstring). In a potential shootout, Scheffler is a sneaky candidate to lead Detroit in receptions. ... Finally hitting a stride since midseason, Matthew Stafford has completed 159-of-270 passes for 1,986 yards (7.36 YPA), and an 11:5 TD-to-INT ratio with a 12th touchdown on a scramble over his last six games. Even without Broyles and Young, the Lions field a receiver corps capable of giving Green Bay's No. 17 pass defense matchup issues all across the formation. Stafford is the No. 8 fantasy quarterback and a locked-and-loaded QB1 in this game. ... Megatron needs to average 105.1 yards per game over the final month to break Jerry Rice's single-season yardage record (1,848) for a wide receiver. Johnson is averaging 158 since the end of October. ... Thomas is a desperation WR3 option in Week 14. Even with an increasing role, the underachieving former Jaguar has caught just three passes for 16 yards over the past two games.Green Bay has allowed the seventh fewest tight-end fantasy points and held Brandon Pettigrew to four catches for 22 yards in these teams' mid-November meeting. I prefer Scheffler to Pettigrew if you're deciding between the two for Sunday night. ... Although Joique Bell (7-81, 3-21) outscored Mikel Leshoure (21-57-1, 2-16) in terms of Week 13 yardage, there is no changing of the guard in Detroit's backfield. The Lions' coaching staff has identified Leshoure as its primary, "sustainer" back who will continue to dominate early-down carries. Even if OC Scott Linehan's pledge to increase his change-of-pace opportunities comes to fruition, Bell will remain a role player barring injury to Leshoure. Ultimately, Bell has received double-digit touches in just one of Detroit's last four games. Leshoure has averaged 18 touches per week over that same span, and is the lone Lions back worth a fantasy start against the Packers' No. 15 run defense.Aaron Rodgers has owned the Lions in his career. Rodgers' statistics in the seven games he's played start to finish against Detroit: 155-of-222 (69.8 percent) for 2,066 yards (9.31 YPA), and an 18:4 TD-to-INT ratio. The Lions rank an unimposing 18th against the pass, so expect Rodgers to bust loose from his recent two-game mini-funk on Sunday Night Football. ... Rodgers' updated target distribution since Green Bay's Week 10 bye: Randall Cobb 25, Jermichael Finley 15, Jordy Nelson 10, Greg Jennings 8, John Kuhn 7, Alex Green and James Jones 6, James Starks 4, Donald Driver 1. ... Forget easing Jennings back from in-season groin surgery. The Packers need him too much. Nelson re-strained his hamstring in the first quarter of last week's win over the Vikings, so Jennings was thrust into an every-down role and led the Packers in targets (8). Fantasy owners who hung onto Jennings through the tough times may emerge looking awfully savvy with a top 15-20 receiver throughout the fantasy playoffs. ... Jones actually led all Green Bay receivers in Week 13 snaps played (83-of-84). Head scratchingly, he was targeted just twice. Jones flashed fantasy reliability when both Jennings and Nelson were hurt earlier in the season, but he'll be a weekly headache going forward. It's been the case for Jones for most of his career. He still offers a high ceiling and scoring potential matching up with a leaky Lions pass defense.Finley has come on some, topping 50 yards in three straight games and efficiently securing 12-of-15 targets over that span for 177 yards and a touchdown. It's been inefficiency that historically discourages Rodgers from treating Finley as a featured part of Green Bay's passing attack, so perhaps he's turning a corner. Finley makes sense as a Sunday night matchup play because he posted a 3-66-1 line in these teams' Week 11 meeting, and the Lions have allowed the fifth most fantasy points to tight ends. ... Cobb's production has sagged along with Rodgers' the past two weeks, but Jennings' return should lock Cobb back into the slot-receiver role he's comfortable with after being shuffled around the formation in Weeks 12-13. "Randall's going to stay in the slot I'd assume," Rodgers said this week, "and Greg will be outside for the most part." Cobb is the one Packers player the Lions are least likely to contain on Sunday night. Shake off the two-game slowdown and start Cobb as a borderline WR1. ... Starks' multi-week knee injury leaves Green as the Packers' probable lead back. It just doesn't make him a fantasy starter. Green Bay never would have turned to Starks had Green capitalized on his midseason opportunity to be the feature runner, and a hot-hand committee is likely with Kuhn and newly re-signed Ryan Grant in the mix. The Packers' backfield is a fantasy football rattrap. Don't expect that to suddenly change.Score Prediction: Packers 27, Lions 24Monday Night FootballHouston @ New EnglandInjuries have taken their toll on a Houston pass defense that opened the season playing as well as any group. Gone are every-down LBs Brian Cushing (ACL) and Brooks Reed (groin), and feisty slot CB Brice McCain (foot). Top CB Johnathan Joseph (hamstring, groin) will be a game-time decision Monday night, and his effectiveness has been compromised when playing at less than 100 percent. Over their last three games, the Texans have allowed Chad Henne, Jake Locker, and Matthew Stafford to throw for a combined 1,104 yards on 139 attempts (7.94 YPA) and a 7:3 TD-to-INT ratio. Houston has plummeted to 19th in the league's pass defense rankings. By no stretch is this a daunting matchup for No. 2 overall fantasy quarterback Tom Brady. ... Brady's target distribution since Aaron Hernandez returned from an ankle injury two games ago: Wes Welker 28, Hernandez 16, Brandon Lloyd and Julian Edelman 6, Danny Woodhead 4, Daniel Fells and Shane Vereen 3. ... Only Jimmy Graham is a better tight end start than Hernandez this week. Coming off a 13-target game, Hernandez faces a Texans defense allowing the 12th most fantasy points to tight ends. ... Without McCain, Houston has little chance of slowing down Welker. Fill-in slot CB Brandon Harris got eaten up by the Titans' inside receivers after McCain's injury last week, and with Percy Harvin done for the year Welker stands alone as the NFL's best slot man.Lloyd's attractiveness as a Week 14 fantasy play depends largely on Joseph's availability and efficacy. Odds are, Joseph will at least try to play. "He looked good," coach Gary Kubiak said of his top corner after Thursday's practice. "... Looked very explosive, looked good." While Lloyd's targets haven't been an issue over the course of the year, the Pats have struggled to get the football downfield accurately all season long. Even with Edelman (foot) out for the year, Lloyd is a dicey WR3. ... Vereen received just three carries, gaining 14 yards, in last week's win over Miami and his week-to-week role has been minimal outside of garbage time-heavy blowout victories. He's Stevan Ridley's handcuff and nothing more. ... Woodhead has eight touches or fewer in five consecutive games. Owners in the fantasy playoffs are hopefully aiming higher. ... The Patriots are without Rob Gronkowski and Edelman, and it's conceivable that a team so shorthanded in its pass-catching corps will look to emphasize the rushing game in a matchup with a Texans defense that isn't nearly as stout as its No. 2 run-defense ranking indicates. They surrender over 4.0 yards per carry, and their ranking is skewed by the fact that Houston has faced the fewest rushing attempts in the league. Carrying teams into the fantasy postseason, Ridley has scored a touchdown in five straight games while maintaining reliable workloads. Only seven NFL running backs have more carries this season.Following back-to-back games of 48-plus pass attempts, Matt Schaub's 35-throw, 207-yard Week 13 effort was more along the lines of what owners should expect from the glorified game manager week in and week out. Of course, matching up with the high-octane Patriots may well require the Texans to ask more of Schaub as a pure thrower on Monday Night Football. New England leads the NFL in total offense and points scored, and Houston will likely have to sling it around the yard to keep up. Consider Schaub a viable low-end QB1 in Week 14. It certainly doesn't hurt that the Patriots rank 29th against the pass. ... Andre Johnson is quietly on pace for 1,486 receiving yards, which would be the third highest sum of his Hall-of-Fame ten-year career. It will be interesting to see whether the Pats leave Johnson manned up on Aqib Talib. Johnson can win that matchup. ... New England has struggled in pass coverage at linebacker and safety all season long, surrendering the most yardage and second most fantasy points in the league to tight ends. Jimmy Graham and Aaron Hernandez are the only Week 14 tight end plays superior to Owen Daniels.Schaub's updated target distribution since Houston's Week 8 bye: Johnson 60, Daniels 35, Kevin Walter 25, Garrett Graham 21, Arian Foster 19, James Casey 16. ... Behind Johnson and Daniels, the ball doesn't go to the Texans' other pass catchers regularly enough for consistent production out of the likes of Walter, Graham, Casey, and Lestar Jean. None of them is rosterable in re-draft leagues. ... The Patriots' defensive strength is versus the run, where they rank in the league's top nine and permit under 4.0 yards per rushing attempt. Foster, of course, remains the NFL's premier workhorse and is a weekly must-start even in difficult matchups. No player has collected more fantasy points through 12 games. ... Justin Forsett is staying ahead of Ben Tate on the Texans' running back depth chart for the time being, although neither Houston backup is start-able in fantasy leagues. Forsett's 14 carries last week were attributable to a comfortable early lead over the Titans. Don't expect the Texans to go up by two touchdowns early in this game. Meanwhile, Tate is still working his way into game shape. He does figure to retake the No. 2 spot behind Foster before the season ends.Score Prediction: Patriots 30, Texans 27


text: SmartsyArtsy 7 Report post Posted April 8, 2013 SURFACE - A Tile Show in Tacoma in conjunction with the International Mosaic Summit Tacoma (April 10 to 14 2013:http://www.americanmosaics.org/wp/index.php/?p=3381) Artisan Tile NW is inviting to SURFACE, a tile show. Vertical Gallery 301 Puyallup Ave, Tacoma Grand Opening April 10th, 5:30 to 8 pm Third Thursday Art Mingle April 18th, 5 to 8 pm SURFACE features small works by tile artists from around the Pacific Northwest. Participating artists: Barbara Clark, Beth Anderson, Chris Seminara, Clare Dohna, Claudia Riedener, Dan Earle (special guest), Gina Holt, Jaki Reed, Janet Gadallah, Janice Deckmann, Karen Cisneros, Karen Morrice, Kimmi Kerns, Laura Brodax, Maria Root, Olga Slutkovskaya, Paul Lewing, Terri Goodwin, Tracy Gosser Share this post Link to post Share on other sites

subset: commoncrawl


text:
YREKA – Five Big Springs residents who were arrested in July on animal cruelty charges stemming from allegations that they abused and neglected their three horses and buried one alive pleaded guilty and were immediately sentenced last week in the Siskiyou County Superior Court.
The five family members – Benigno Leon Villegas Sr., 65; Maria Del Carmen Franco-Dominguez, 47; Benigno Eduardo Villegas Jr., 24; Alma Rosa Villegas, 22; and Esmeralda Villegas Franco, 25 – were charged following grand jury indictments.
According to a press release issued by the Siskiyou County District Attorney's Office, each defendant convicted of animal cruelty was placed on probation for three years and three of them were ordered to serve some time in the county jail.
Representatives from the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) stated that the investigation began in March. The defendants' neighbor reported to authorities that she had witnessed them depriving the animals of food and water and abusing them.
The witness told the Daily News that ultimately, the defendants tied a screaming yearling with rope and dragged him 30 yards to a shallow grave that they had dug. The witness stated that the mare who had given birth to the yearling less than a year earlier could also be heard screaming. She said she videotaped the incident for proof, and she gave it to authorities.
When authorities responded to the scene, the yearling was deceased. They attempted to rescue the mare, but due to her severely emaciated condition, she had to be euthanized, stated the SCSO. A gelding was successfully rescued.
The defendants entered the following pleas last week:
• Villegas Sr. pled guilty to one count of cruelty to an animal and he was ordered to serve 60 days in county jail;
• Dominguez pled guilty to a felony and misdemeanor count of cruelty to an animal and she was ordered to serve 60 days in jail;
• Alma Villegas pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of cruelty to an animal and battery. The latter charge pertains to a physical altercation with the neighbor who witnessed the crimes, videotaped the horse burial, and turned it over to the prosecution. She previously served two days in county jail, and was not ordered to serve additional jail time;
• Franco pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of willful disturbance (which stemmed from another contact with the neighboring witness). She was charged for the violation but never arrested. She received a deferred entry of judgement, which means that no sentence was issued; and
• Villegas Jr. entered a plea of guilty to a misdemeanor violation of cruelty to an animal. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
According to the release, each defendant was ordered to not own any animals aside from the dogs they already own. They were ordered to have those animals properly licensed within 30 days and they must submit to a search of their property to inspect the animals.
Three of the defendants were ordered to pay restitution including costs of impoundment and care for the one horse who survived, veterinarian fees, costs for the treatment and euthanization of the mare, and related costs for exhuming the body of the deceased horse.
The court also issued protective orders for the neighbors who brought the case to the attention of authorities, and ordered the defendants not to travel by that home when coming to and from their residence.
The defendants were ordered not to possess firearms, and those with probation officers must submit to any psychological counseling ordered by those officers.
"We are committed to seeking justice for all victims within Siskiyou County, including abused and mistreated animals," stated Siskiyou County District Attorney Kirk Andrus in the release.
He noted in the release that his office reached out to the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), which fights to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system.
"The extraordinary effort expended here to bring this case to justice was completely worth it, and I hope other animals are safer from neglect and abuse because of these measures," stated Andrus.


text:
Preseason football is exactly for games like the Chiefs played last night. There's a reason no one wins preseason awards.
The preseason is for teams to get back in the flow of playing in games. It is also for teams to get the kinks out they are used for teams to get film on all there players so the coaches can go to work on what a given player needs to work on before the games start to count. It is for teams to get there rookies/new players use to playing with there new teams/teammates. It is for spots on the team to be won and lost and that's what the coaches work on most. They don't sit and watch hours of film of the upcoming team they're going to face. They are to busy watching film of there own guys so they can begin to figure out who they want on the final spots of there roster. They watch limited film of there next opponent and put together a very basic gameplan for that team. But nothing like they do in the real season.
A bad presesaon can't be completly ignored you have to work on the things you struggled on but it's results should be taken with a grain of salt. While there are some things that are of concern on this team right now they still have almost a month to work on those. The sky is not Falling just yet. RELAX


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Gini Day died on March 12, 2013
Virginia (Gini) Lou Day the daughter of Edward Wildeber and Marabel Erynzanki Wildeber was born in Peoria, Illinois on November 12, 1938 and passed away at her home on March 12, 2013 at the age of 74 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents,1 great nephew and 3 great nieces. She is survived by her husband Ken Day, a son Rusty Kurtz, a daughter Wendy Shindler, two sisters, a granddaughter, 2 nieces, 6 nephews, 6 great nephews, 12 great nieces, other relatives and many friends.
A visitation will be held on Friday, March 15, 2013 from 2:00 until 3:00 PM at the Quitman First United Methodist Church and Memorial Services will be at 3:00 PM at the church


text:
For more than 30 years, jazz pianist Marian McPartland hosted one of public radio's most beloved shows, Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz. As NPR's Felix Contreras writes, she "gave the world an intimate, insider's perspective on one of the most elusive topics in music — jazz improvisation." McPartland died of natural causes on Tuesday at the age of 95. She spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1987.
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Dave Davies, in for Terry Gross.
DAVIES: For over 30 years, jazz pianist Marian McPartland hosted one of public radio's move beloved shows, "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz." As NPR's Felix Contreras wrote, it gave the world an intimate insider's perspective on one of the most elusive topics in music, jazz improvisation. McPartland died of natural causes on Tuesday. She was 95.
We're going to remember her today with an interview she recorded in 1987 with Terry Gross. "Piano Jazz" featured performances and conversation with a wide variety of pianists, including Teddy Wilson, Bill Evans, Eubie Blake, Hank Jones, Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck. But not just piano players. Dizzy Gillespie, Tony Bennett, Lyle Hampton, Henry Mancini and Willie Nelson were guests as well.
Here's an excerpt with her program with the late pianist Oscar Peterson, which aired in 1998.
MARIAN MCPARTLAND: You know, something else I admire about you is you utilize all of the different styles, well I guess you have to when you're playing solo piano more than you do with a trio, but like this thing...
OSCAR PETERSON: Broken tense.
MCPARTLAND: You know, that's so great, broken tense.
PETERSON: One of the reasons I do that, Marian, is because when I play at tempo or any kind of a tempo, first of all it's a lot less tedious than jumping the octaves, you know, unless you want to for effect. But when I do that, it sends - it gives me a chance to play a little more of an evolved line against it.
PETERSON: Rather than...
PETERSON: You know, that...
MCPARTLAND: Yeah, but then you see you've got it all worked out because then after you do it with the broken tense, then you do the stride piano after that. Everybody gets excited. You know, like, like whether you know it or not, which I'm sure you do, you know, the things you do are very great for show because you get very excited, and everybody gets all excited, and then bang, suddenly you go right down to nothing, like...
PETERSON: I go to this (unintelligible) line and, like...
MCPARTLAND: Yes, yes.
PETERSON: Well I do that also so people can hear. Many times, you know, I've been asked what, what is a line, what does it mean, why do people play like this. And, you know, I have always gone through the thing about creating a line and against a bass line, you know.
PETERSON: So with just the two going, they can hear the relationship.
MCPARTLAND: How about doing a duet?
PETERSON: I would love to.
MCPARTLAND: I mean, it took me a lot of - I've got a lot of guts saying that, but this is one of my favorite tunes, "Falling in Love with Love." And we're going to do this in C, right?
PETERSON: I hope so.
PETERSON: Because I don't know it in any other key.
MCPARTLAND: Can I do an ad-lib introduction?
PETERSON: You start it. Yeah, you start it.
MCPARTLAND: And then I'll go into C.
PETERSON: Go ahead.
MCPARTLAND: All right.
PETERSON: I'll follow you.
DAVIES: That's Marian McPartland in a duet with Oscar Peterson from her program " Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz." McPartland grew up in England, in a proper, middle-class home where classical music was abundant. But her interest in jazz represented a life her parents disapproved of. She met the American cornet player Jimmy McPartland during World War II while they were each performing for the troops and moved to his hometown, Chicago, after they married.
For the first few years of their 20-year marriage, she played Dixieland standards with her husband. But she soon became interested in the more modern jazz of the '50s and starting leading her own small groups. In 1979, McPartland launched "Piano Jazz," a production of South Carolina ETV Radio. As veteran Philadelphia listeners may recall, when FRESH AIR was still a local program here in Philadelphia, "Piano Jazz" was a regular Monday afternoon feature.
So it was a great treat when Terry had a change to interview McPartland in 1987. Here's their conversation.
Marian McPartland, welcome to FRESH AIR. It's a pleasure to have you here.
MCPARTLAND: Thank you, Terry, it's nice to be here.
GROSS: I feel like we should play a duet together like on your show, but no.
MCPARTLAND: Why not? We've got a piano here. Let's try four hands.
GROSS: I'd like to talk to you about your life. So many of your listeners have heard you talk with other musicians about their lives. I want to hear some about yours. I know you came from a pretty proper family in England. Your mother played classical music and I think wished that you played classical music, too. They didn't like the idea of you playing jazz. What did it represent to your parents?
MCPARTLAND: I don't think - now Terry, you know, I don't think they minded - I don't think they minded what I played. It was just when they got the idea that I was going to do something in music, that they weren't going to see me get what they thought would be a nice job, like my father always thought it would be nice if I worked in a bank or became a nurse of all ridiculous things.
They really didn't mind me playing jazz, but when they finally got the word that I was going to be in it, then it became a different thing, it became music as a profession.
GROSS: What did they object to about that?
MCPARTLAND: Oh, I think my mother said, what was it, oh, you'll come to no good. You'll marry a musician and live in an attic. See, that's pretty much what happened.
MCPARTLAND: Although we weren't ever in the attic, but we were in some funny little apartments. So that was her idea, that I would meet terrible people and that I would come to no good, you know, that it represented something depraved, and...
GROSS: Did your teachers in music school feel the same way?
MCPARTLAND: The three years that I did take lessons at the Guild Hall School of Music, I played by ear up until that time, when I was studying, the professor I had there was a very wonderful guy, very solemn, very much against jazz, and at that time I was really into learning all kinds of jazz from records. And I would be supposed to be practicing, but I would be playing something by Art Tatum or trying to perfect an Art Tatum run or something.
And he opened the door one time and got very red in the face. Stop playing that trash. But it really wasn't long after that that I left and took off with a four-piano act that was my first introduction to not so much the jazz life but the show business life. And actually now I'm rather proud of having worked in all those vaudeville theaters because they're very historical places, those of them that are still standing.
GROSS: I think your entry into the jazz came during World War II, when you were playing for the troops and playing a lot of jazz, were you considered something of a freak, being a woman jazz musician?
MCPARTLAND: No, I don't think so, Terry, because when I went to France and played in a group for the armed forces, that really wasn't jazz. That was sort of show biz again. And then actually after I met Jimmy, I guess that's when I feel that I really got into playing a little more actual jazz.
But then when I came here to the States and got to hear all the people in person that I had loved for so long on records, like Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, James P. Johnston, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, all those people. Then a lot of it did start to sort of rub off on me, and I became a better player because of hearing all these people and of course because of Jimmy, working with his group.
I certainly have a fine Dixieland repertoire, and we still play together, and we still play all those tunes.
GROSS: Well when you started playing, you were playing with your husband's band.
MCPARTLAND: Yes.
GROSS: And I wonder if it was hard for you to get your own sense of identity as a performer. I think a lot of women who are married to someone who they work with, especially a few decades ago, were considered the wife of and kind of secondary to the man who was performing. Did that ever happen?
MCPARTLAND: It's funny. I guess I must have been naturally pushy or something.
MCPARTLAND: Plus the fact that Jimmy was very helpful. He was always very helpful and very admiring of my talent, and he was always kind of introducing me to do solo numbers and to do numbers with the band. He seemed to be very proud of what I did. In fact when we moved to New York, it was really through Jimmy that I got started with the trio because I really didn't want to.
He kept saying oh, you want to have your own trio, and you shouldn't be working in this band. I could feel myself getting out of the Dixieland chord structure and into more modern things. And of course I listened to everything that was going on all the time. So he really was the one that kind of sold me on the idea that I should have my own trio.
And once I did start with the trio, Jimmy was very helpful in introducing me to all kinds of people. And I always tell him he created a monster because, you know, once I started, I didn't want to stop. That was it.
GROSS: Well, some jazz musicians remain sidemen all their lives. They spent their lives playing with other people's bands.
MCPARTLAND: That's true.
GROSS: Very early on in your career, you became a leader. How did you manage to pull that off?
MCPARTLAND: Well, I guess what happened was I got booked in this one place, The Embers, so since I had been booked as the leader, I was able to hire the people to work with me. And from then on it always was that way. I was always booked as the leader and would hire the best - I always wanted the best sidemen there were available.
As a matter of fact, in a way I'm kind of sorry I didn't what I would call go through the ranks and be a sideman or side person with some other groups, but it just didn't work out that way because I went right from working with Jimmy to my own trio. And it was very hard because it was a top club, and I felt that I was very green and callow.
And it's funny, I couldn't open my mouth. I remember we had my group, and Eddie Heyward was opposite me. I couldn't even think what to say to introduce him. I had it written on a piece of paper: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, and now I'd like to introduce Eddie Heyward. You know, I would do it, and I would be shaking. It was so funny.
But, you know, we went - I guess you learn by doing, you know.
GROSS: Jimmy McPartland used to drink a lot.
MCPARTLAND: Yes, he sure did.
GROSS: Did you ever feel since you were his wife, when you were playing together on the bandstand, that you had to keep one eye on how much he was drinking?
MCPARTLAND: Oh Terry, that's a whole other - I mean, Jimmy finally went into AA, and I was probably a terrible person because I was always nagging and worrying about that. It just seems like there's always somebody around a person who drinks a lot. There's always some sort of well-meaning do-gooder trying to keep them straight, and that was me.
GROSS: Well that must have put a real strain on your performing to on the one hand be playing and on the other hand trying to keep track of what was happening with your husband.
MCPARTLAND: Yeah, I mean there's so many anecdotes I could tell about that. At this point they seem funny, though at the time they weren't because, you know, when somebody's drinking, they always have a million friends who want to make sure that they buy them drinks, and they get their quota. You know, Jimmy would walk around the bar and tell everybody that his wife couldn't stand to see him drink. And so his friends would say oh that's terrible, you know, and they would carry a water glass full of gin into the men's room.
And I never could figure out how he got - well no, Jimmy wasn't a sort of falling-down drunk. He just got very slow and boring. You know, and the worst thing that would happen would be he would be announcing a tune, and it would take him 10 minutes to announce the tune, and we'd all be saying oh, for God's sake, get on with it, you know.
Now that's a whole other side of my life, and it seems to have, in retrospect, as I say, a lot of it seems very funny, though at the time it was quite a tragedy. But it's great. It worked out because he did stop, and so many of the musicians that he worked with are gone, probably because of that. You know, a lot of people died too young. So not so with the old man. He's in good shape.
DAVIES: Marian McPartland, recorded in 1987. Marian and Jimmy McPartland remarried in 1991, shortly before Jimmy's death. The divorce, she liked to say, didn't take. We'll hear more of our interview with Marian McPartland after this break. This is FRESH AIR.
DAVIES: This is FRESH AIR. We're remembering Marian McPartland, who died on Tuesday at the age of 95. Let's get back to the interview she did with Terry Gross, recorded in 1987.
GROSS: You told us a little earlier that you didn't feel that out of place being a woman early on in your jazz career, and I'll tell you I find that hard to believe.
MCPARTLAND: Well see, Terry, before I had gone to America, there were so many women that I had listened to who were my idols, like Hazel Scott and Mary Lou Williams, Lil Armstrong and a woman who I really admired a great deal, Cleo Brown. So I didn't realize that being a woman, when I got to New York, being a woman with a jazz group people would find it unusual because it seemed to me that there were plenty of women out there, and I still think so.
GROSS: You know what might have been helpful to you, too, being married to a jazz musician. And what I mean by that is that you weren't, quote, available to any man who thinks, well, I think I'll flirt with that dame pianist, you know, because...
MCPARTLAND: No that's true, that's true, and then there's this to it, also, Terry, that when I did get out with my own trio, I was really in it for the music. Like although I think I dressed pretty well, you know, cared about my appearance, there wasn't any idea of, well, I'm going to play, and I'm going to be winking at some guy at the bar. I was always - I wanted so much for the music to be accepted, and I really wanted to play as well as I could. And that's always been in the forefront, you know, to try to play as well as I could, although at that time I was - I think I was rather dependent upon the opinion of other people.
I mean, I'm not so much that anymore. I've sort of become my own person a little more than I was then.
GROSS: Did you feel initially uncomfortable in the jazz life as an upper-middle-class British woman? Were you made to feel uncomfortable by that? Did you try to...
MCPARTLAND: You mean to get down and to be one of the boys?
GROSS: Exactly. Well this - a lot of people go through this, you know, that they're just a little embarrassed about their proper upbringing, and they try to be more down or more bohemian or whatever.
MCPARTLAND: No, I think I was always myself in that regard, in fact, but people used to kid me either about my accent, but I really was one of the group. I mean, I wasn't somebody that sort of was a snob. I think - I mean although I came, I feel that my family were snobs, my mother was very careful about - she didn't let me mingle with certain kinds of people. Well, that's why they were so upset about me being in the music business, because they felt that everybody in music had to be weird or a bohemian or strange.
You know, some of the strangest people I've ever met have had nothing to do with music.
GROSS: You know, your career has had an interesting graph to us. A lot of musicians early on in their lives become very well-known for a certain style or for a certain recording, and then they reach a peak early on, and it's kind of, in the public eye, it's kind of downhill from there. And I think with your career it's been exactly the opposite. It's been this slow, upward...
MCPARTLAND: It's amazing, isn't it?
GROSS: Every year you become known, and I think your playing becomes more beautiful, and it's - I think it's an unusual twist on the typical career.
MCPARTLAND: It's funny. I think - well, I just feel as if everything I've done has been a sort of a springboard to do something else. And I like to set goals for myself and always have something new to do. And I also have this feeling that one, you're supposed to improve. As you learn more, you're supposed to get better. I feel as I know more, therefore I should be able to play more, and I'm always trying to eliminate bad things about my playing.
And it's just that feeling. I think, well, you should be able to do better, you should be able to play better, you should be able to write more. And so far I've been luck that's the way it's gone.
GROSS: It also brings to mind a very nice quote from Mary Lou Williams that's in one of the profiles in your new book, and she says anything you are shows up in your music.
MCPARTLAND: Yeah, isn't that a great thing?
GROSS: I do like that quote a lot. It seems to me that cuts both ways, though.
MCPARTLAND: It probably does.
GROSS: The wisdom of your life is reflected in your music. But if you're really in a real rut emotionally, that could come out in your music, too.
MCPARTLAND: Yeah, I'm sure it could. I mean, I don't want to drop any names, but I can think of some people years ago that I felt that about, that they would reach a certain level. And I guess the temptation is if you're very well-known is to reach a certain level and then coast on what you had. And you sort of think, well, I don't have to do any better.
But I think maybe that's the way I've always been brought up, that you're supposed to always do your best and try hard and don't give up, and there's a saying about - I forget who said this but when you sit down to play, you should play as if it were the last day of your life, play as well as you can because it may be the last chance you have to play.
And I think a lot of us do feel that way.
GROSS: Well, I wish you the best with the new series, and I thank you very much.
MCPARTLAND: Are we done?
GROSS: Yeah, time just flew by.
GROSS: Thank you so much for being here, Marian McPartland.
MCPARTLAND: Oh thank you, Terry.
DAVIES: Marian McPartland, speaking with Terry Gross, recorded in 1987. McPartland hosted" Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" for more than 30 years. She died Tuesday; she was 95. I'm Dave Davies, and this is FRESH AIR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
Perl 6
SMOP: Revision 111
Simple Meta Object Programming / Simple Matter Of Programming
If you want to help SMOP, you can just take on one of the lowlevel S1P implementations and write it. If you have any questions ask ruoso or pmurias at #perl6 @ irc.freenode.org.
The Slides for the talk Perl 6 is just a SMOP are available, it introduces a bit of the reasoning behind SMOP. A newer version of the talk presented at YAPC::EU 2008 is available
SMOP is an alternative implementation of a C engine to run Perl 6. It is focused in getting the most pragmatic approach possible, but still focusing in being able to support all Perl 6 features. Its core resembles Perl 5 in some ways, and it differs from Parrot in many ways, including the fact that SMOP is not a Virtual Machine. SMOP is simply a runtime engine that happens to have a interpreter run loop.
The main difference between SMOP and Parrot (besides the not-being-a-vm thing), is that SMOP is from bottom-up an implementation of the Perl 6 OO features, in a way that SMOP should be able to do a full bootstrap of the Perl 6 type system. Parrot on the other hand have a much more static low-level implementation (the PMC)
The same way PGE is a project on top of Parrot, SMOP will need a grammar engine for itself.
Important topics on SMOP
Other matters
SMOP Development ROADMAP
In order to keep this simple, the ROADMAP will stay here and will be edited as needed.
S1P - Read it "Swamp"
actual S1P
Completing SMOP runtime
Perl 6 SMOP
Other Features
SMOP Changelog
Usually, things from ROADMAP should come to here when its done.
2008-08-27 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-22 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-20 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-16 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-11 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-07 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-04 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-08-02 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-31 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-26 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-25 - Paweł Murias
2008-07-25 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-24 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-18 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-16 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-15 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-11 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-10 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-09 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-08 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-07-04 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-03-11 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-02-22 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-02-14 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-02-05 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-02-01 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-01-31 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-01-24 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-01-23 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-01-21 - Daniel Ruoso
2008-01-18 - Daniel Ruoso
See also the Old YAP6 Changelog.


text: GROTON -- Democrats will hold a caucus to elect delegates to the Massachusetts Democratic Party's 2013 Platform Convention on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 10 a.m. at Groton Town Hall. All Groton Democrats registered as of Dec. 31 are eligible. Groton will elect six delegates and three alternates to the June 1 convention in Lowell. The Democratic Town Committee will hold its meeting after the caucus adjourns at 11 a.m. Contact: email@example.com or www. GrotonDemocrats.com.