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03 Nov 2011

ESPN: Week 9 Fantasy Matchups

In this week's fantasy matchups column, we separate air yards from YAC, and identify the league-leading wide receivers in each stat on a per-reception basis. Elsewhere, we're bullish on Falcons and bearish on Steelers.

Posted by: Danny Tuccitto on 03 Nov 2011

8 comments, Last at 06 Nov 2011, 10:09am by Shawn

Comments

1
by Anonymous999 (not verified) :: Thu, 11/03/2011 - 5:27pm

I'm going to start a crusade to end the use of 'salt away' in football articles (meaning "to finish off"; for example, "salt away a victory").

I'm seeing the term used frequently on fantasy football sites, especially. I don't know why it's caught on, but it makes no sense given the traditional idiomatic meaning for 'salt away'.

2
by Uncle Luke (not verified) :: Thu, 11/03/2011 - 9:34pm

Doesn't 'salt away' mean 'preserve'? The other team was preserving a two-touchdown lead for the entire second half. Maybe there should be a 'trying to' in that sentence, but it's not that bad. It's certainly a lot better than getting untracked.

5
by Anonymous999 (not verified) :: Fri, 11/04/2011 - 11:59am

According to http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/salt+away ...

1. Lit. to store and preserve a foodstuff by salting it. The farmer's wife salted a lot of fish and hams away for the winter. She salted away a lot of food.

2. Fig. to store something; to place something in reserve. I need to salt some money away for my retirement. I will salt away some money for emergencies.

So yes, it can mean 'to preserve', if you're talking about food. Otherwise, the figurative meaning is 'to store something.' I don't know how you can 'store' a victory by running out the clock.

It used to be a minor annoyance, but now that this phrase is popping up pretty frequently it's really starting to grate.

6
by jtduffin :: Fri, 11/04/2011 - 1:33pm

I think a lot of phrases are like that in that they can easily become trendy or popular, and can then end up being run into the ground (which is one of them itself, of course!) and becoming very tiresome. I think an FO writer has at least once mentioned the also-ubiquitous-in-sports-writing "struggled mightily" as an example.

I don't really have a problem personally with applying "salted away" to "running away the clock to get a win", as it makes sense to me to think of the eventual victory as being something you'd pack with salt and put in the pantry when you're done with the game, but I can definitely imagine it being grating to read it over and over again. Like any other expression, overuse does not make my heart grow fonder.

3
by jw124164 :: Thu, 11/03/2011 - 10:17pm

Wow - Julio Jones also makes both columns. This Falcons fan hopes he'll get his first TD this weekend.

4
by Shawn :: Fri, 11/04/2011 - 11:11am

Would the Donald Lee value apply to Jermaine Gresham if he ends up playing? Does that actually mean CIN TE? Or is it specific to Donald Lee and his role in the offense?

7
by Danny Tuccitto :: Fri, 11/04/2011 - 5:59pm

Yeah, it really means CIN TE. For the purposes of the analysis, I just allocated Gresham's touches to Lee.

8
by Shawn :: Sun, 11/06/2011 - 10:09am

Thanks! Now I just play the waiting game and see which one plays. God, my TE sucks.

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