Category: Fantasy Football (Page 280 of 324)

Take a look at your league’s scoreboard – are the numbers down a bit this week? Other than a couple of games with big scores, many of the fantasy stars were quieter than usual this Sunday. But when they went big, they went B-I-G. Here are this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Carson Palmer (440 yards, 3 TD)
Palmer played great in the Chargers/Bengals shootout, completing a total of 31 passes to eight different receivers.

Honorable Mention: Phillip Rivers (337 yards, 3 TD), Steve McNair (373 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT), Brett Favre (347 yards, 2 TD), Ben Roethlisberger (264 yard, 3 TD), Drew Brees (398 yards, 1 TD), Tony Romo (308 yards, 2 TD)

LaDainian Tomlinson (28 touches, 158 yards, 4 TD)
In the last five games, LT has a total of 863 yards and 13 TD. That’s a career year for a lot of guys. Right now, there’s not a more valuable player in fantasy football.

Honorable Mention: Willie Parker (24 touches, 225 yards, 2 TD), Frank Gore (24 touches, 173 yards, 1 TD), Steven Jackson (24 touches, 133 yards, 1 TD), Joseph Addai (20 touches, 124 yards, 1 TD), Deuce McAllister (16 touches, 62 yards, 2 TD), Brian Westbrook (25 touches, 150 yards), Fred Taylor (17 touches, 134 yards)

Chad Johnson (11 rec, 260 yards, 2 TD)
Finally, CJ breaks out with a HUGE game, becoming the third player from the game to earn Headliner status. San Diego and Cincinnati combined for 975 total yards and 90 points.

Honorable Mention: Donald Driver (6 rec, 191 yards, 1 TD), Donte Stallworth (6 rec, 139 yards, 1 TD), Mark Clayton (7 rec, 125 yards, 1 TD), Marques Colston (10 rec, 169 yards), Malcom Floyd (5 rec, 109 yards, 1 TD)

Kellen Winslow (5 rec, 90 yards)
Other than Brandon Manumaleuna (who wasn’t starting for anyone), it was a pretty quiet day for tight ends, but Winslow had yet another solid outing and is clearly Charlie Frye’s favorite target.

Honorable Mention: Brandon Manumaleuna (2 rec, 14 yards, 2 TD), Heath Miller (3 rec, 30 yards, 1 TD), Jerramy Stevens (3 rec, 29 yards, 1 TD), Tony Gonzalez (6 rec, 84 yards)

FLATLINERS

Marc Bulger (215 yards, 1 INT)
There were QBs that had worse days, but if you look at the list below, there isn’t anyone with Bulger’s reputation. The Seattle defense did a nice job of bottling up Bulger and his receivers.

Dishonorable Mention: J.P. Losman (83 yards), Mark Brunell (132 yards, 1 INT), Alex Smith (136 yards), Damon Huard (201 yards), Joey Harrington (201 yards), David Carr (167 pass yards, 48 rush yards)

Clinton Portis (7 touches, 31 yards)
In all fairness, Portis left the game prematurely with a broken thumb, but he left his owners in a lurch on Sunday (and probably for the rest of the season, if they don’t have Ladell Betts on their rosters).

Dishonorable Mention: Leon Washington (11 touches, 36 yards), Julius Jones (15 touches, 45 yards), Jamal Lewis (17 touches, 50 yards)

Randy Moss (1 rec, 8 yards)
What’s happened to this guy? Moss used to be on the short list of the best WRs in the league, but now he’s having miserable game after miserable game. It just goes to show you – heart matters in fantasy football.

Dishonorable Mention: Devery Henderson (0 rec), Santana Moss (3 rec, 17 yards), Marvin Harrison (2 rec, 21 yards), Laveranues Coles (5 rec, 29 yards), Reggie Brown (2 rec, 38 yards), Andre Johnson (3 rec, 56 yards), Mike Furrey (2 rec, 13 yards)

L.J. Smith (1 rec, 8 yards)
Smith has been one of the most consistent TEs in the game, so this poor outing is a bit of a surprise. It seems like when Donte Stallworth is on the field, he gets most of the targets.

Dishonorable Mention: Ben Watson (2 rec, 16 yards), Alge Crumpler (4 rec, 37 yards), Chris Cooley (3 rec, 39 yards)

Donte Stallworth’s hammy is not 100 percent, but he’s not on the injury report and will play Sunday, barring a setback…Greg Jennings is a game time decision with his bad ankle…Despite conflicting reports, it’s not certain that Matt Hasselbeck will start in Week 11. He did participate in 7 on 7 drills this week, which is a good sign…Shaun Alexander did some cutting this week and Mike Holmgren is optimistic that he’ll be able to play against the 49ers next week…Joe Horn has been downgraded to doubtful and is not likely to play this week. Devery Henderson will likely get the extra snaps and targets after his great game last week…Rod Smith and Tatum Bell have been upgraded to probable and should play against the Raiders…Bernard Berrian was upgraded to questionable but still didn’t practice all week. Obviously, he’s not a safe play unless something drastic happens…Chester Taylor was upgraded to probable and will start against the Packers on Sunday…Todd Heap is listed as questionable, but returned to practice on Friday and is expected to play…Larry Fitzgerald and his sore hamstring are listed as probable and he is expected to return to the field on Sunday…Plaxico Burress is listed as questionable and should start against the Bears Sunday night…Rudi Johnson returned to practice on Friday and is listed as probable. He should have a decent day against a banged-up Chargers defense…Terry Glenn left practice on Friday after aggravating his knee injury, so it is unlikely that he’ll be able to go on Sunday…Amani Toomer underwent season-ending knee surgery on his partially torn ACL. Tim Carter is first in line for Toomer’s limited targets.

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

BRAD JOHNSON, JAKE DELHOMME, ALEX SMITH, CHARLIE FRYE, and JON KITNA all have excellent matchups this week. Don’t bench a stud for them, but if you are choosing among a group of so-so starters, these guys should score well this week…ANTHONY THOMAS, FRANK GORE and MAURICE MORRIS are reasonable starts this week, given their matchups. Don’t expect miracles from the A-Train or Morris, but they should be good for 80-100 yards with a possible score…BRAYLON EDWARDS and REGGIE BROWN have great matchups this week and are decent starts in a pinch.

BENCH

MARK BRUNELL, CHAD PENNINGTON, MATT LEINART and JAKE PLUMMER have tough matchups this week and should be avoided if at all possible…TRAVIS HENRY, AHMAN GREEN, REGGIE BUSH and DEUCE MCALLISTER should find the going tough with their matchups against Baltimore, Minnesota and Pittsburgh, respectively…Bench TERRY GLENN and ERIC PARKER, if possible. Both players have tough matchups and it was recently revealed that Glenn has a “bone on bone” condition in the back of one of his knees. He’s listed as probable, but I’m officially worried.

Check back on Saturday for a complete injury update. Until then, feel free to post your roster questions on our Q & A.

Willis McGahee has two cracked ribs and a broken rib, and will be out at least two weeks as a result. Look for Anthony Thomas to take his place in the starting lineup. A-Train rushed for 95 yards and a TD on 20 carries, while also catching one pass for six yards. The Bills have the Colts and the Texans the next two weeks, so you could do worse than Thomas as your #2 RB.

You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. You may fire when ready.