Month: December 2006 (Page 2 of 14)

Each week in the Pregame, I’ll provide a few players to start and a few to bench. These recommendations are based on that player’s strength of schedule (SOS) for that particular week or that player’s specific situation.

I’m a strong advocate of always starting your studs, so I won’t be telling you about LaDainian Tomlinson’s tough matchup or how Peyton Manning and company will light it up against a bad defense. Anyone can make those calls. I’ll be discussing marginal fantasy starters – guys that can start for you, but only under certain circumstances.

START

MATT LEINART, TIM RATTAY, JEFF GARCIA and JAY CUTLER are marginal quarterbacks with nice matchups this week…RON DAYNE, TRAVIS HENRY, EDGERRIN JAMES and MARION BARBER face poor rush defenses this week and should find plenty of running room…ANTONIO BRYANT, JOEY GALLOWAY, MARK CLAYTON and BRAYLON EDWARDS all have favorable matchups this week and are worth a start, assuming you’re not benching a stud…Don’t bench a top defense, but if you’re looking for a spot DT starter, KANSAS CITY, TAMPA BAY, CLEVELAND, INDIANAPOLIS, GREEN BAY and SAN FRANCISCO all have good matchups this week, in that order.

BENCH

Stay away from DAVID CARR, TRENT GREEN, CHAD PENNINGTON and JON KITNA this week if at all possible. Given their tough matchups, the odds are against them having a good day…AHMAN GREEN, COREY DILLON and CEDRIC HOUSTON face stout rush defenses this week and should be benched if you have a better option available…EDDIE KENNISON and DREW BENNETT shouldn’t be started this week.

This is it – championship week in most fantasy leagues. If you have any roster questions or just want a sanity check, we’re here to help.

QUARTERBACKS

Here is a list of players that may be available on your league’s waiver wire, in order of relative value:

Vince Young, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia, Rex Grossman, Matt Leinart, Jason Campbell, J.P. Losman, Philip Rivers, Chad Pennington, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Tavaris Jackson, Tim Rattay, Derek Anderson, David Garrard

Rex Grossman, Matt Leinart, Tavaris Jackson and Alex Smith all have pretty good matchups if your desperate for a decent starter. If Vince Young, Tony Romo or Jeff Garcia is available, grab one of them first.

RUNNING BACKS

Ron Dayne, Cedric Houston, Mike Bell, Travis Henry, Sammy Morris, Vernand Morency

Ronnie Brown was cleared to practice today, so it might mean the end of the Sammy Morris run in Miami. Keep an eye on Brown’s status before using Morris in Week 16…Ron Dayne continued his impressive run with another nice game on Sunday. He’s got a great matchup with Indy next week, so he can be used in an emergency.

WIDE RECEIVERS

D.J. Hackett, Joe Jurevicius, Santonio Holmes, Ronald Curry, Reche Caldwell, Chris Henry, Antwaan Randle El, Devery Henderson, Arnaz Battle, Terrance Copper

With Darrell Jackson out with injury, D.J. Hackett had a huge first half last Thursday, and should continue to get a lot of work down the stretch…Joe Jurevicius doesn’t have a great matchup this week, but Derek Anderson has been targeting him regularly, so he can bee used in a pinch.

TIGHT ENDS

Desmond Clark, Vernon Davis, Jeremy Stevens, Tony Scheffler, Bo Scaife

Desmond Clark shouldn’t be on your league’s waiver wire, but if he is, he’s a good option at TE in Week 16 given his recent performance and his favorable matchup against the Lions…Vernon Davis continues to be a big part of the 49er offense and is a good option if your searching for a fill in at TE.

It’s playoff time, which means more than a few hearts were pounding as Week 15 unfolded. It was an unusually slow day for most fantasy players and a lot of big names put up crappy numbers. LT and Westy kept things rolling while Tatum, Chester and Roy let their owners down. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Rex Grossman (339 yards, 2 TD)
Those owners that rolled the dice with the inconsistent Grossman reaped the benefits as he sliced and diced the Bucs defense to one of his best games of the year.

Honorable Mention: J.P. Losman (200 yards, 3 TD), Tim Rattay (268 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Jay Cutler (261 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Kyle Boller (238 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Derrick Anderson (223 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT), Ben Roethlisberger (140 yards, 1 pass TD, 1 rush TD), Chad Pennington (339 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)

LaDainian Tomlinson (26 touches, 204 yards, 2 TD)
Tomlinson single handedly lifted the Chargers over the feisty Chiefs. If you’ve got LT, the chances are pretty good that you’re on the way to your league’s title game.

Honorable Mention: Brian Westbrook (24 touches, 137 yards, 2 TD), Steven Jackson (31 touches, 127 yards, 2 TD), Maurice Jones-Drew (28 touches, 145 yards, 1 TD), Willie Parker (23 touches, 132 yards, 1 TD), Kevin Faulk (6 touches, 68 yards, 2 TD), Mike Bell (16 touches, 61 yards, 2 TD), Vernand Morency (7 touches, 54 yards, 2 TD), Tiki Barber (24 touches, 104 yards, 1 TD), Ladell Betts (25 touches, 162 yards)

Laveranues Coles (12 rec, 144 yards, 1 TD)
On a day when the wideouts around the league were pretty quiet, Coles huge day really stood out. The Minnesota pass defense is pretty bad, but Coles made a mockery of the Vikings’ secondary.

Honorable Mention: Joey Galloway (3 rec, 107 yards, 1 TD), Javon Walker (5 rec, 84 yards, 1 TD), Reggie Brown (4 rec, 77 yards, 1 TD), Plaxico Burress (6 rec, 120 yards)

Desmond Clark (7 rec, 125 yards, 2 TD)
The tight ends were also pretty quiet and it’s quite possible that Clark wasn’t started this week. But those that did have Clark in their lineup enjoyed his huge day at the Bucs’ expense

Honorable Mention: Jeremy Shockey (8 rec, 70 yards)

FLATLINERS

Steve McNair (0 yards)
My condolences go out to anyone who started McNair this week. He’s always a threat to be knocked out of a critical game, and that’s exactly what happened this week.

Dishonorable Mention: Philip Rivers (97 yards, 2 INT), David Carr (127 yards, 4 INT), Jon Kitna (135 yards, 2 INT), Aaron Brooks (98 yards, 1 INT), Brett Favre (174 yards, 3 INT), Matt Leinart (214 yards, 2 INT), Marc Bulger (137 yards), Trent Green (185, 1 INT), Drew Brees (207 yards, 1 INT), Vince Young (85 pass yards, 4 rush yards), Joey Harrington (20 yards, 2 INT)

Tatum Bell (20 touches, 41 yards)
Bell followed up a couple of huge games with a clunker this week and found Skeletor’s dog house after fumbling away the football. Mike Bell took over and finished with two scores. Remember this when you’re considering drafting a Denver running back next August.

Dishonorable Mention: Chester Taylor (11 touches, 38 yards), Reggie Bush (12 touches, 33 yards), Travis Henry (13 touches, 39 yards), Reuben Droughns (9 touches, 31 yards), DeShaun Foster (10 touches, 47 yards), Willis McGahee (28 touches, 79 yards, 2 Fumbles), Larry Johnson (22 touches, 93 yards)

Roy Williams (1 rec, 11 yards)
Williams blew a great matchup against a suspect Packers secondary and let down more than a few fantasy teams this week. He headed into the playoffs as one of the best third round picks of the draft, but this Week 15 performance tainted a pretty solid season.

Dishonorable Mention: Mike Furrey (3 rec, 20 yards), Chris Chambers (0 rec), Greg Jennings (1 rec, 5 yards), Devery Henderson (2 rec, 20 yards), Andre Johnson (5 rec, 28 yards)

Antonio Gates (1 rec, 7 yards)
Earth to Antonio. Come in, Antonio. It’s the playoffs. Do you copy? Earth to Antonio. Come in, Antonio. Do you copy? I repeat: do…you…copy?