Category: Fantasy Football (Page 285 of 324)

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QUARTERBACKS

Here is a list of players that may be available on your league’s waiver wire, in order of relative value: 1. Jon Kitna, 2. Matt Leinart, 3. Chad Pennington, 4. Alex Smith, 5. Rex Grossman, 6. David Carr, 7. Phillip Rivers, 8. Charlie Frye, 9. Brad Johnson, 10. Mark Brunell. 11. J.P. Losman, 12. Bruce Gradkowski, 13. Vince Young, 14. Joey Harrington, 15. Kyle Boller

Chad Pennington bounced back from a miserable performance in Jacksonville to throw two touchdowns against the Dolphins, and has a favorable schedule going forward…The Chargers seem to be opening up the playbook for Phillip Rivers, who has shown that he can throw a good ball…J.P. Losman has improved his decision-making and the Bills have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, making him a decent spot-starter, given a good matchup…Kyle Boller came in for an injured Steve McNair and played well, throwing for three scores against Carolina…If Trent Green is on your waiver wire, this would be a good time to add him. He may start practicing this week.

RUNNING BACKS

1. Travis Henry 2. Maurice Jones-Drew, 3. Cedric Benson, 4. Leon Washington 5. Maurice Morris 6. Jerious Norwood, 7. Michael Turner, 8. Brandon Jacobs, 9. Najeh Davenport

The Jets split the carries between Kevan Barlow and Leon Washington, but Washington’s production means that his role should continue to grow…With his outburst the last two weeks, Travis Henry should have established himself as the Titans’ starter for the foreseeable future. He is now a solid #2 option until Jeff Fisher says otherwise…Najeh Davenport rumbled for 78 yards on 12 carries, and his value would explode if Willie Parker were to get injured…When Kevin Jones went briefly to the sideline against the Bills, Brian Calhoun took his place, rushing twice for five yards. It appears that Calhoun is now KJ’s backup, not Shawn Bryson.

WIDE RECEIVERS

1. Marques Colston, 2. Reggie Williams, 3. Mark Clayton, 4. Bernard Berrian, 5. Jerricho Cotchery, 6. Doug Gabriel, 7. Mike Furrey, 8. Wes Welker, 9. Bryant Johnson, 10. Eric Parker

Mark Clayton has been more productive than Derrick Mason, and that trend will definitely continue if Steve McNair misses any time due to the concussion he suffered on Sunday… Eric Parker has gone over the 80-yard mark each of the last two weeks. He’s the third option in the passing game right now (after Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson), but he has sure hands and has been able to get open, building a nice rapport with Phillip Rivers in the process.

TIGHT ENDS

1. Chris Cooley, 2. Desmond Clark, 3. Alex Smith, 4. Eric Johnson, 5. Jerramy Stevens

Jerramy Stevens was supposed to return this week but didn’t play because during warm-ups his knee felt “odd.” Keep an eye on his status this week. He’s capable of putting up Top 10 numbers when healthy.

On the heels of a nice victory at St. Louis, Mike Holmgren announced that the team’s star running back, Shaun Alexander, will miss at least two more weeks. The team wants to allow the foot to completely heal so that he doesn’t re-injure it and need to have surgery.

Fantasy Impact: While it’s a smart move for the Seahawks, the news isn’t good for fantasy owners who are probably scrambling to fill their RB spots with the normally tough Alexander out of their lineup. Maurice Morris will continue to fill in, but he hasn’t been able to produce #1 RB numbers thus far. Of course, neither did Shaun before he got hurt. Maybe the team’s running game is feeling the loss of Steve Hutchinson.

Week 6 is pretty much in the books and several wideouts put up huge numbers on Sunday. T.O. scored a hat trick, but his performance was trumped by a class act in St. Louis. LT2 ran roughshod over the 49ers, while Rudi and the Houston QB blew great matchups. But enough with the tease, let’s get to the Week 6 Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Marc Bulger (360 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT)
The Seattle/St.Louis game was a shootout, so it’s no surprise that the two QBs in that game top the Headliners list. Bulger threw like he was still playing in a Mike Martz offense, but benefited from a great game (and a spectacular catch) from the WR Headliner.

Honorable Mention: Matt Hasselbeck (268 yards, 3 TD), Philip Rivers (334 yards, 2 TD), Jake Delhomme (365 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT), Drew Brees (275 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT), Kyle Boller (226 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT)

LaDainian Tomlinson (28 touches, 135 yards, 4 TD)
Tomlinson went apeshit on the 49ers, scoring three times before halftime. Luckily for his owners, the Chargers still played him quite a bit in the second half, and he was able to snag a few passes and score a fourth time. This was the first time in his career that he scored four TDs in a game.

Honorable Mention: Travis Henry (34 touches, 181 yards, 1 TD), Tiki Barber (29 touches, 227 yards), Willie Parker (22 touches, 98 yards, 2 TD), Kevin Jones (29 touches, 163 yards, 1 TD), Warrick Dunn (14 touches, 146 yards, 1 TD), Clinton Portis (19 touches, 75 yards, 2 TD), Ronnie Brown (22 touches, 127 yards, 1 TD)

Torry Holt (8 rec, 154 yards, 3 TD)
There were a lot of strong games turned in by wide receivers today, but none better than Torry Holt. He made a beautiful adjustment on a tipped ball to score his third TD of the day. Right now, he is the hottest fantasy WR in the game. On a side note, do you think Terrell Owens was disappointed to see that five other receivers scored multiple touchdown? He’s just happy to get the win, right?

Honorable Mention: Steve Smith (8 rec, 189 yards, 1 TD), Reggie Brown (6 rec, 121 yards, 1 rec TD, 1 rush, 15 yards, 1 rush TD), Joe Horn (6 rec, 110 yards, 2 TD), Laveranues Coles (5 rec, 106 yards, 2 TD), Mark Clayton (5 rec, 101 yards, 2 TD), Terrell Owens (5 rec, 45 yards, 3 TD), Roy Williams (10 rec, 161 yards, 1 TD), Deion Branch (6 rec, 76 yards, 2 TD), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (10 rec, 102 yards, 1 TD)

Jeremy Shockey (6 rec, 55 yards, 2 TD)
Shockey had his best game of the year against a pretty good Atlanta pass defense. Even more impressive, he finished the game without aggravating his ankle injury. I grow weary of watching him limp around on the field. I get it, you’re a tough guy for playing through the pain. Let’s move on.

Honorable Mention: Antonio Gates (5 rec, 78 yards, 1 TD), Todd Heap (5 rec, 55 yards, 1 TD), L.J. Smith (4 rec, 48 yards, 1 TD), Chris Cooley (2 rec, 27 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

David Carr (128 pass yards, 2 INT)
Carr squandered a great matchup against a Cowboys secondary that has been playing some suspect football of late. What’s worse, his team was behind the whole game, but he could still only muster 128 pass yards. He looked like the David Carr of old.

Dishonorable Mention: Damon Huard (162 yards, 1 INT)

Rudi Johnson (17 touches, 52 yards)
After a red-hot start, Rudi has cooled off considerably in the last three weeks, rushing for a total of 164 yards and one score in the last three games. Cincinnati is supposed to have the best offensive line in the league, so their inability to run on the Bucs Sunday is a complete mystery. Coming into the game, Tampa Bay had allowed an average of 163 yards on the ground, so RJ’s performance is a big disappointment.

Dishonorable Mention: Jamal Lewis (12 touches, 50 yards), Ron Dayne (11 touches, 18 yards), Reggie Bush (15 touches, 60 yards), DeShaun Foster (28 touches, 70 yards), Willis McGahee (19 touches, 80 yards)

Derrick Mason (0 rec, 0 yards)
Oddly enough, I benched the next guy on this list for Mason in one league and neither guy did diddly-squat. Mason was targeted on that crazy Kyle Boller pass that was deflected into the air before falling into Mark Clayton’s hands. Mason is definitely a better play with Steve McNair under center.

Dishonorable Mention: Jerricho Cotchery (1 rec, 6 yards), Plaxico Burress (4 rec, 44 yards), Keyshawn Johnson (5 rec, 46 yards)

Tony Gonzalez (3 rec, 15 yards)
After a great game in Week 1, Gonzo has been pretty quiet, catching only 11 passes for 106 yards over the next four games. Something stinks in KC, and Gonzo’s production is probably a symptom, not the cause. Regardless, he’s on pace to have his worst year since his rookie season.

Dishonorable Mention: Jason Witten (3 rec, 17 yards)

Brian Westbrook didn’t practice on Friday, but it’s being called a routine day off. It appears that he will play Sunday, but as always, be sure to check the inactives tomorrow morning to be sure…Jerramy Stevens will make his season debut on Sunday and is expected to play about 30 snaps…LenDale White has a “slim” chance of playing due to his struggles with the flu. Travis Henry is expected to get the bulk of the carries, but Chris Brown may figure in as well…Laveranues Coles missed a portion of the team practice on Friday, but is still expected to play…Drew Bennett returned to practice on Friday and is expected to play. There’s no telling what kind of production Bennett will have with Vince Young under center…Roy Williams returned to practice on Friday and is listed as probable with a neck injury…Todd Heap and Jeremy Shockey are battling ankle injuries, but both players are listed as probable and should play Sunday…Donte Stallworth is doubtful with a hamstring injury and it doesn’t look like he’s going to play, making Reggie Brown a little more valuable this week…Larry Johnson is listed as probable and will likely play against the Steelers…Kevan Barlow is expected to start this week despite Leon Washington’s production last week…Bryant Johnson will start this week in place of the injured Larry Fitzgerald. He’s not a particularly good play against a tough Bears defense, but he’s worth starting in most situations until Fitzy returns.