Jim "CFO" Herbeck beat the experts, but follows the Redskins.... Push.

Columbus, Ohio native Jim Herbeck, Chief Financial Officer of a swanky family salon, and IDP fantasy football fanatic, became the second 411fantasy.com fan to best all three 411 experts; Adam Conn, Jeff Thioff and Adam Helbling. Herbeck’s fantasy track record includes two titles in three years in the Worthington Area Fantasy Football League (guess who has the other title?). The WAFFL league isn’t your average league, however. It includes 37 rounds and a full roster of IDPs, 11 starters and the appropriate number of reserves. Next year when 411 is a fantasy empire, we’ll include IDP’s in our rankings to make Herbeck feel more at home…. maybe.

Herbeck’s score of 20 would have landed him in 7th place in the experts contest, one ahead of Conn. We asked Herbeck about his Week 9 picks, his affinity towards Futurama and took a shot at his NFL team. Read on….

411: Congratulations, Jim! It took you several weeks – Twice you came close including losing a tie-breaker (a-la blackjack, dealer wins) and just a couple points shy in Week 8 – but you finally cracked the code and knocked us out. Pacing yourself, or blind nut?

CFO: I’d love to tell you in a “wanna-be cool kid” apathetic tone that I could care less about this…but frankly, I’m still annoyed about the Beat Conn/Beat Helbling/Tied Thitoff score I had in Week 3. So it’s nice to get over the hump, but it’s long overdue.

411: Did you have an idea you were on pace for a HOF caliber week or do you bury your head once kickoff starts and track your scores later?

CFO: After I click submit on that form, I rarely remember who I picked at ANY position, so in answer to your question, head buried. While I appreciate the Kudos from you guys, once the ball’s in the air on Sunday morning (lousy Thursday night games that I can’t watch), I’m 100% focused on my lineup in my full defense league (in which I’m currently in 1st place and beating Conn — yes, I’m that shameless).

411: You were one of few that included Joseph Addai amongst your top five running backs. Granted, Houston’s defense is a bit softer than San Francisco (Indy’s Week 8 opponent), but Addai struggled without Donald Brown against the Niners. What told you Addai was a solid play against the Texans?

CFO: I was a big fan of Donald Brown as a sleeper coming into the season, but with him nicked up, I thought it was a good opportunity for Addai to post big numbers. I wound up being surprised when that game wasn’t a more high-scoring affair.

411: In a multiple choice question, you chose Matt Forte over Marion Barber, Steve Slaton and your boy, Clinton Portis. As bad as Forte’s been this season (his 33 yards rushing were bailed out by 74 receiving), why did you go with him over the others?

CFO: Oh sure, just because I beat you guys, you have to be sore losers. Fine, I’ll admit it — I’m a Redskins fan. Hopefully Thitoff will have some consoling words of wisdom as a Browns fan. In regards to Forte, I went with him less because I thought he was due for a breakout week, and more because I hated the other three options. Process of elimination = success; Sherlock Holmes would be proud of me.

411: Of your selections, which player(s) turned into a pleasant surprise and which player(s) disappointed you the most?

CFO: The fact that Defenses helped me beat you guys was clearly the biggest surprise. The only league I’m in right now is a full defense league, so I usually have a very hard time picking team defenses. As for disappointments, how can I be disappointed if I won? But I suppose it would be QBs. That’s what I get for going with (mostly) chalk, I suppose

411: Which Futurama alias will you go with in Week 10 on your entry form, and will you have enough names to last you the season?

CFO: I’m enough of a hardcore fan (read: nerd) that I think I can make it through the rest of the season. The only question is whether Scruffy the Janitor’s picks will be as successful as Zapp Brannigans?

411: As a reward, Jim, your name and a photo will appear in the 411fantasy.com Hall of Fame along side our first winner, Tom Suitt. In addition, your opinion is now highly regarded by our site…. for now…. and we’d like for you to give us a sneak peak into Week 10. Give us a couple of players you like that may not be on everyone else’s radar.

CFO: I’m not very plugged in to what the rest of the league sees, but I’ve been driving the Pierre Thomas bandwagon since July, and don’t see any reason to stop now. Also, if you’re in a full defense league, I like Michael Boley’s return to the Giants. I think he’s got a good shot to help them turn things around and post some solid individual stats while he’s at it. Also, with the hapless Packers O-line taking on Dallas, I like just about anybody on the Dallas defense to get a hand in on a sack or two, with Mr. Ware obviously getting the MVP award.

Thanks Jim, and congrats again.