Month: October 2005 (Page 1 of 12)

Who’s the best tight end in football? If you haven’t paid attention the past year and a half, you’ll likely say Tony Gonzalez. Hell, even if you have noticed what Antonio Gates has been doing for the Chargers, you may say Gonzo’s still the best simply because he’s been the best for so long. But not anymore. Gonzalez has been complaining about his lack of activity in the KC offense, and rightfully so — coming into this week’s game, Gonzalez had just 25 catches for 209 yards and no touchdowns. Gates, meanwhile, had 33 catches for 430 yards and three touchdowns.

But if there was any real debate about the identity of the NFL’s best tight end coming in to this week’s Chargers/Chiefs game, that debate is now officially dead. Gonzalez delivered his best line of the season, catching seven balls for 97 yards and his first score of the year, but Gates was even better, snagging 10 catches for 145 yards while reaching the end zone three times. You know Gonzo wanted to show up big against Gates and the Chargers, but apparently Gates wanted the same thing.

For Gonzalez owners, though, a silver lining can be found in the game’s box score. Not only did Gonzo have a solid performance but the Chiefs’ passing game, which had been rather lackluster this year, found a groove. Eddie Kennison had 115 yards and a score, Chris Horn caught seven passes, and Trent Green completed 31 of his 47 attempts for 347 yards. But even if Gonzalez finally starts delivering the kind of numbers owners expected from him on draft day, he’ll still play second fiddle to Antonio Gates.

SUNDAY HEADLINERS

Jake Plummer: 309 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT
Okay, this is getting crazy. It’s now been six weeks since Jake Plummer has thrown an interception. Six! We’re talking about a guy who’s thrown at least 20 picks five different times in the last eight years. We’re talking about a guy who, coming into this season, owned a 132-141 career TD-to-INT ratio. But this year, Plummer now has 12 touchdowns vs. just three interceptions. Not coincidentally, the Broncos are now 6-2 after thumping the Eagles 49-21 Sunday.

ALSO: Jake Delhomme (341 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT), Trent Green (347 yards, 2 TD, O INT), Drew Brees (324 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Kerry Collins (238 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT)

Tiki Barber: 24 carries, 206 yards, 1 TD
Is there a more underrated back in football? Is there a more underrated back in fantasy football? Barber now has 689 rushing yards and 5 TD on the season, and while the Giants’ potent downfield passing game has put a big dent in Tiki’s receiving totals, he’s still well on his way to another monster season. I bet you didn’t know that Barber’s averaged at least 4.4 yards/carry every year since 2000. This season? Try 5.3.

ALSO: Steven Jackson (25 carries, 179 yards; 2 catches, 21 yards, 1 TD), Marion Barber (27 carries, 127 yards, 2 TD; 2 catches, 15 yards), Fred Taylor (22 carries, 165 yards, 1 TD), Mike Anderson (21 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD)/Tatum Bell (14 carries, 107 yards, 2 TD)

Jerry Porter: 6 catches, 123 yards, 2 TD
Finally. The good news is, with Randy Moss limited by several injuries, Porter finally delivered the kind of stat line fantasy owners expected when they drafted the Oakland receiver this year. The bad news is that Porter was virtually invisible leading up to this game (25 catches, 303 yards, 0 TD), which means that owners who hadn’t given up on Porter completely most likely had him sitting on their bench for his breakout game. But if Kerry Collins and the Oakland offense can build off this strong performance, Porter may rebound nicely over the second half of the season.

ALSO: Steve Smith (11 catches, 201 yards, 1 TD), Joey Galloway (8 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD), Ernest Wilford (6 catches, 145 yards, 1 TD), Terrell Owens (3 catches, 154 yards, 1 TD)

SUNDAY FLATLINERS

Mark Brunell: 65 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
From Headliner to Flatliner in one week. And what a miserable week it was for Brunell and the Redskins. Washington got embarrassed by the Giants Sunday, 36-0, thanks in large part to Brunell’s ineffectiveness. The leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year completed just 11 of his 28 pass attempts Sunday and even gave way to Patrick Ramsey late in the blowout loss. Brunell owners shouldn’t get too worried just yet — it is, after all, just one game — but with Washington’s next two games coming against the Eagles and in Tampa Bay, you may want to send him to the bench for a couple of weeks.

ALSO: Brett Favre (279 yards, 1 TD, 5 INT), Eli Manning (146 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), Josh McCown (161 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT), Aaron Brooks (181 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT)

Rudi Johnson: 22 carries, 72 yards, 0 TD
Admittedly, this one’s a bit personal because Rudi is absolutely killing me in one league. To quote our friends at Rotoworld.com: “…Rudi was held to 90 yards or less without a touchdown for the sixth time in eight games this season.” Ouch. Johnson’s been consistent and remains among the league leaders in rushing yards, but he hasn’t delivered a big performance yet. After scoring 13 touchdowns last season and nine in 13 games the year before, Johnson’s got just two in 2005. For owners in TD leagues (like me), that just doesn’t cut it.

ALSO: Priest Holmes (14 carries, 38 yards, 0 TD; 3 catches, 15 yards), Cadillac Williams (13 carries, 20 yards), Antowain Smith (6 carries, 33 yards), Marcell Shipp (12 carries, 44 yards)

Michael Clayton: 4 catches, 30 yards, 0 TD
I’m getting personal again, but I know I’m not the only one who curses Michael Clayton whenever he reads the Tampa Bay box score each week. Against the pathetic 49ers defense and coming off a bye, which not only gave Clayton time to sync up with his new QB but to also rest his injured shoulder, this should’ve been the week Clayton busted out of his season-long slump. Instead, he laid another egg. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to cut the guy.

ALSO: Nate Burleson (1 catch, 6 yards), Randy McMichael (3 catches, 20 yards), Randy Moss (3 catches, 26 yards), Santana Moss (4 catches, 34 yards)

Every week, I submit six names to our readers – three borderline fantasy players to start and three to bench. Here’s how I did last week:

START

Jake Plummer, DEN – 194 yards, 1 TD (PUSH)
Plummer didn’t put up big numbers, but he was efficient and didn’t throw any picks.

Chris Brown, TEN – 37 rushing yards, 0 TD (MISS)
Brown left the game with a neck stinger.

Az-Zahir Hakim, NO – 6 catches, 100 yards, 1 TD (HIT)
Hakim is a great play as long as Horn is injured.

BENCH

Michael Vick, ATL – 116 pass yards, 3 INT, 18 rushing yards, 2 TDs (MISS)
The league’s most inaccurate passer threw three picks but managed to run for two scores.

Jamal Lewis, BAL – 34 rushing yards, 0 TDs (HIT)
Lewis has been awful. Is it time for Chester Taylor?

Mushin Muhammad, CAR – 3 catches, 39 yards (HIT)
Muhammad is wasting away in the Bears’ lowly passing attack.

On to this week’s picks:

START

QB – Drew Brees, SD (vs. KC)
Brees should be able to pick apart a Kansas City defense that is giving up 264 yards a game. They are also 7th worst in TD passes allowed (10).

RB – Ronnie Brown, MIA (vs. NO)
The Saints rush defense is quite suspect, giving up 10 rushing TDs and an average of 126 yards per game. Brown has been pretty good the last two weeks and should have lots of room to run against New Orleans.

WR – Jimmy Smith, JAX (vs. STL)
The Rams are horrible against the pass, allowing an average of 246 yards a game. They are 2nd worst at allowing pass TDs (14). Jimmy is coming off a bye week and should be able to shred the St. Louis defense.

BENCH

QB – Eli Manning, NYG (vs. WAS)
The Redskins are stingy against the pass, allowing only four pass TDs all year along with 158 yards a game. It could be a tough game for Manning, who should sit on the pine if you have another decent play.

RB – Steven Jackson, STL (vs. JAX)
If you a good alternative, Jackson should be benched (especially in touchdown leagues) against an underrated Jacksonville defense, which has allowed a healthy 120 yards per game, but has only allowed two rushing scores.

WR – Derrick Mason, BAL (vs. PIT)
Pittsburgh is pretty good against the pass, allowing just 206 yards through the air. They are even better at keeping opposing WRs out of the endzone (four pass TDs).

KEY INJURIES

Andre Johnson – Q
Antonio Gates – Q
Az-Zahir Hakim – Q
Brandon Jones – Q
Brandon Lloyd – P
Carnell Williams – Q
Chris Brown – Q
Chris Henry – P
Corey Dillon – Q
Donovan McNabb – P
Donte Stallworth – Q
DeShaun Foster – Q
Drew Bennett – O
Ed Reed – O
Fred Taylor – P
Hines Ward – P
Isaac Bruce – D
Jake Plummer – P
Jamie Martin – P
Jerome Bettis – P
Joe Horn – Q
Julius Jones – Q
Kurt Warner – P
Lee Suggs – O
Marc Bulger – D
Mark Brunell – P
Plaxico Burress – Q
Randy Moss – Q
Ray Lewis – O
Robert Ferguson – O
Roy Williams – Q
Rudi Johnson – P
Samie Parker – Q
Steve McNair – Q
Terrell Owens – P
Thomas Jones – P
Tom Brady – P
Tony Fisher – P
Torry Holt – D