Author: John Paulsen (Page 929 of 937)

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

Ahman Green is done for the season and Robert Ferguson is out for a month. The Falcons, Jets, Colts and Seahawks are on bye. What does all of this mean for your fantasy team?

Post all of your roster questions here and we’ll try to give you the right answers.

Another week has come and gone, and two more Packers have found themselves on the infirmary list. If you are still trying to fill holes on your fantasy squad, here are a few guys to keep in mind:

QUARTERBACKS

Other than Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms, Jamie Martin and Kelly Holcomb, whom I mentioned in last week’s Watch, there is only one potentially attractive option on tap this week.

Billy Volek, TEN – Steve McNair was a late scratch for the game against the Cardinals and Volek – usually a very capable backup – was knocked out of the game with a concussion. The status of both players is up in the air, but this is a situation to keep your eye on as the QB for the Titans is reasonably valuable.

RUNNING BACKS

Tony Fisher, GB – If you haven’t heard, Ahman Green’s season is over. Najeh Davenport would normally replace him, but he’s already out with a season-ending injury. That leaves Tony Fisher, who normally gets playing time on 3rd down. He’s a bit thin for a RB, but is a good receiver out of the backfield and can be productive at times. In the end, he’s now a starting RB and those are hard to find on the waiver wire at this point in the season.

Frank Gore, SF – The 49ers starting RB, Kevan Barlow, left the game with a leg injury, but is listed as probable for next week’s game. Gore did well in his place, and if he sees more carries than usual in the next game, it may indicate a changing of the guard in San Francisco. I wouldn’t run out and grab Gore at this point, but this is another situation to watch.

Travis Henry, TEN – Henry is probably not available on your league’s waiver wire, but an impatient owner may have cut him after news of his suspension broke. He is available to play next week and the starter, Chris Brown, was knocked out of the game against Arizona with a neck stinger. Brown is notoriously fragile, so Henry is one of the more valuable backups in the league.

WIDE RECEIVERS

I mentioned Jabar Gaffney and Doug Gabriel in last week’s Watch, and they are still good options this week.

Antonio Chatman, GB – Robert Ferguson is out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained knee, so Chatman’s role figures to increase during that span. He was already productive as the third WR so I expect his numbers to increase a bit while the Packer offense suffers as a whole. Green Bay has a brutal schedule over the next three weeks, so they may be playing from behind for the next month or so.

Mike Williams, DET – Kevin Johnson is out for the season so the Lions are very thin at WR until Roy Williams and Charles Rogers return. Jeff Garcia is in at QB and seemed to connect well with Mike Williams, who caught five passes for 95 yards on Sunday. I don’t expect that type of production going forward, but Williams might be a good 1-2 week option.