Author: John Paulsen (Page 935 of 937)

Every week, we suggest a few marginal players to start or bench based on their match-ups and situations. If you are still troubled by your fantasy roster this week, feel free to post a question on our Q&A.

First, let’s see how we did last week:

START

Tom Brady – 306 yards passing, 2 TDs
Mike Anderson – 4 carries, 5 yards (injured in first quarter)
Willie Parker – 209 total yards, 1 TD
Isaac Bruce – 3 catches, 61 yards, 1 TD

BENCH

David Carr – 70 yards passing, 3 INTs, 1 fumble, 40 yards rushing, rush TD
Reuben Droughns – 100 total yards
Rod Smith – 7 catches, 90 yards
Ashley Lelie – 2 catches, 17 yards

On to this week’s picks:

START

QB – Carson Palmer
Palmer is coming off of a fine game against the Browns and faces a questionable Minnesota defense this week. I expect that the Vikings offense will bounce back, so this should be a high scoring affair.

RB – Ahman Green
There may be a few owners out there considering benching Green this week. Don’t do it. He’s facing the Browns and Javon Walker is out for the year, which means he’ll even be a bigger part of the gameplan.

WR – Eddie Kennison
With the Chiefs playing the Raiders, this is the week to start Kennison. Just like the CIN/MIN matchup, this one should be a high scoring affair.

BENCH

QB – Chad Pennington
The Jets QB had a horrible game last week and struggled with velocity on his throws. This week, he’s facing a tough Miami pass defense – bench him.

RB – Carnell Williams
The rookie blew up last week for 148 yards rushing, but this week he’s facing a tough Bill defense that shut down Domanick Davis last week. Bench him if you have decent RB depth.

WR – Eric Moulds / Lee Evans
Buffalo didn’t throw much last week and Losman was efficient but not terribly impressive at QB. The Bills are going up a against a stout Tampa Bay defense, who made Daunte Culpepper look like a fool last week.

KEY INJURIES

Jamal Lewis – P
Kyle Boller – O
Cedric Benson – Q
Lee Suggs – Q
Mike Anderson – Q
Jason Hanson – Q
Javon Walker – O (for season)
Dallas Clark – Q
Mewelde Moore – Q
Duce Staley – Q
Jerome Bettis – Q
Eric Johnson – Q
John Hall – Q

The waiver wire is a great place to strengthen your team, especially early in the season. Each week we’ll break down the wire and point out a few players that you might want to add to your squad.

QUARTERBACKS

Drew Bledsoe, DAL: 226 yards, 3 TDs
If you protect him, he will perform. Don’t expect numbers like this every week, but with several offensive weapons, Bledsoe would make a good backup as long as the Cowboys can give him solid protection.

Joey Harrington, DET: 167 yards, 2 TD
The offensive line doesn’t look very good, but Harrington was reasonably efficient against the Packers. He’s another guy benefiting from a nice surrounding cast and should make a decent backup.

Others:

Gus Frerotte, MIA: 275 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
This may be an aberration, but Frerotte looked good running the Miami offense against a relatively good Denver defense.

Trent Dilfer, CLE: 278 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Cleveland looks like they may be playing from behind a lot this year, and Dilfer will have an opportunity to air it out to a nice receiving corps.

Tim Rattay, SF: 165 yards, 2 TDs
Rattay was efficient for the 49ers, but with emerging WRs Brandon Lloyd and Arnaz Battle, he might have some big days.

Anthony Wright, BAL: 214 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
With Boller out for a bit, Wright will finally get his chance to shine in Baltimore. Let’s see what he can do with a week to prepare.

RUNNING BACKS

Assuming Tatum Bell, Willie Parker and Stephen Davis are not available in your league, there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot of immediate help at the RB position on the WW this week.

Others:

Frank Gore, SF: 38 total yards
Most reports indicate that Barlow had a very bad outing, so move Gore up a tick and add him if you have room (and don’t need help at another position).

Brandon Jacobs, NYG: 39 yards, 1 TD
Looked good during his six carries and appears to be the goal line back for the Giants. A must add if available and Tiki Barber is one of your starters.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Joey Galloway and Antwaan Randle-El may be available in some leagues, but here are three guys that are likely on your league’s waiver wire:

Robert Ferguson, GB: 1 rec., 4 yards
With Javon Walker’s season-ending knee injury, Ferguson steps into the #2 WR position in GB, which is usually good for 60+ catches and 850+ yds. He should make a very solid #3 WR.

Arnaz Battle, SF: 5 rec., 59 yards, 1 TD; -3 rushing yards; 27 passing yards
A former QB, Battle threw, ran and caught the ball Sunday. Until TE Eric Johnson fully returns from his injury, he and Lloyd appear to be the only viable options for the 49ers in the passing game.

Patrick Crayton, DAL: 6 rec., 89 yards, 1 TD
Also a former QB, Crayton is in his second year, had a fine preseason and carried it over to Sunday. He is listed as the #3 WR behind Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn, and with the recently added Peerless Price waiting in the wings, it is tough to gauge Crayton’s value going forward.

Others:

Bobby Engram, SEA: 8 rec., 79 yards
With the departure of Koren Robinson, Engram moves into the #2 WR role behind Darrell Jackson. Engram will probably have a lot of games like the one he had on Sunday.

Frisman Jackson, CLE: 8 rec., 128 yards, 1 TD
Those are eye-popping numbers, but it will be tough for Jackson to repeat playing behind Antonio Bryant, Dennis Northcutt and rookie Braylon Edwards. Keep an eye on him.

TIGHT ENDS

Marcus Pollard, DET: 5 rec., 58 yards, 1 TD
If teams try to double-cover Roy Williams and Charles Rogers on the outside, Pollard will make a living this year over the middle. Still, don’t expect numbers like this every week with all the offensive weapons in Detroit.

Chris Baker, NYJ: 7 rec., 124 yards, 1 TD
Everyone thought Doug Jolley would be the guy for the Jets, but it was Baker who shined on Sunday. He was one of the only bright spots on a rather dismal day for the Jets.

Others:

Jerramy Stevens, SEA: 3 rec., 41 yards
Possibly still available in your league, Stevens appears to have locked up the starting TE position in SEA.

Ben Watson, NE: 2 rec., 55 yards
Watson started Thursday night on fire, but then wasn’t heard from the rest of the night. He looks like he is very talented, but with the way the Patriots spread the ball around, it’s tough to say how many targets he will get week to week. At the very least, he’s the best TE option in NE.

Ben Troupe / Erron Kinney, TEN
Troupe caught four passes for 28 yards and a TD for the Titans, and he wasn’t even supposed to play. The other TE, Erron Kinney, caught five passes for 58 yards, so it’s clear that Tennessee plans to use their tight ends as their #2 option in the passing game.

Alex Smith, TB: 4 rec., 34 yards, 2 TD
Tampa Bay’s other rookie looks big, strong and fast and could emerge as the team’s #3 option in the passing game.

Courtney Anderson, OAK: 3 rec., 18 yards, 2 TDs
Anderson benefited from all the attention the Patriots gave to Randy Moss, Jerry Porter and Lamont Jordan. It’s unclear if he’ll get these types of looks game to game, but the guy is talented.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them in our Fantasy Football Q&A section.

Boy, whoever gave “Fast” Willie Parker his nickname wasn’t kidding. With both Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis out with injuries, Parker got a chance to start for the Steelers and made the most of it. In all, he carried 22 times for 161 yards (7.3 ypc) and one touchdown while also catching a pass for 48 yards. That performance will likely earn him another start next week. It will be interesting to see how the team uses him when Staley and Bettis return.

Green Bay wideout Javon Walker left the game with a knee injury and the team isn’t optimistic. They say he injured his ACL, but they’re not sure how serious the injury is until he can undergo a MRI on Monday. If they lose Walker for the season it will be a devastating blow to a Packer team already reeling from a 17-3 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions. From a fantasy perspective, keep your eye out for the results of the MRI and be ready to pounce on Robert Ferguson, who will likely be available on your league’s waiver wire.

HEADLINERS

Carnell Williams – Any questions about Williams’ potential workload were answered on Sunday. The rookie RB carried 27 times for 148 yards and a touchdown, which was second only to Willie Parker’s performance. Many thought that Michael Pittman would steal touches from Williams, especially early in the season. How many touches did Pittman get against the Vikings? Zero.

Larry Fitzgerald – 13 catches for 155 yards and a TD. Fitzgerald slipped some in the preseason with a couple of nagging injuries, but he and Anquan Boldin will make a formidable duo for QB Kurt Warner.

Steve Smith – He’s baaaaaaack! I love Smith’s chances of returning to his 2003 form. His line on Sunday: 8 catches for 138 yards and a TD. He actually scored a second time but it was called back.

Jimmy Smith – He’s still here! A few prognosticators wrote Jimmy off after he dropped a few balls in the preseason. But the guy is a pro and he rewarded faithful fantasy owners with a 7 catch, 130 yard, two-touchdown day and appears to be a must-start here on out.

FLATLINERS

Daunte Culpepper – Sure, he threw for 233 yards, but he committed five turnovers (3 INTs, 2 fumbles) and didn’t throw a TD in a 23-13 loss to Tampa Bay at home. Yikes!

Shaun Alexander – He averaged 5.2 ypc (73 yards on 14 carries) but didn’t catch a pass or score a TD. All in all, a disappointing day from a guy that was drafted 1.02 in a lot of leagues.

Chad Pennington – Six fumbles? How do you fumble six times? Luckily, he only lost one, but he also threw a pick and failed to lead the Jets to any points – against the Chiefs!