Category: Fantasy Football (Page 286 of 324)

Every 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

J.P. LOSMAN has a great matchup with a Lions defense that has allowed an average of 266 yards and 2.2 pass TD per game this season. Don’t bench a good QB for him, but if you are desperate, he’s a decent fill in this week…DREW BLEDSOE didn’t inspire much confidence last week, but he’s at home against the Texans, who have allowed 295 yards and 2 TD through the air this season…JULIUS JONES, TATUM BELL, RONNIE BROWN and CARNELL WILLIAMS all have great matchups this week. Unless you have to sit a stud, these guys should be in your lineup…He’s been struggling, but stick with CHRIS CHAMBERS this week against the Jets, who haven’t been able to put much pressure on the QB this season. He and Joey Harrington should be on the same page after a week’s worth of practice.

BENCH

JAKE DELHOMME has a tough matchup with the Ravens, who have only allowed 146 pass yards and 0.6 pass TD this season…ALEX SMITH and ELI MANNING also have tough matchups (against the Chargers and Falcons, respectively), but don’t bench Manning unless you have a good backup…DESHAUN FOSTER won’t have to share time with DeAngelo Williams this week, but he’s going to find the going tough against he Ravens…EDGERRIN JAMES and the Cardinals will struggle to move the ball against the Bears. So even though he was a hot pickup this week, it’s doubtful that BRYANT JOHNSON (and, to a lesser extent, ANQUAN BOLDIN) will be able to rack up many yards Monday night.

Check back Saturday for a complete injury update. In the meantime, feel free to post your questions on the Fantasy Q & A.

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers.

Post all of your fantasy questions here.

QUARTERBACKS

The following list contains players already covered in previous WWW, so if any of the top guys are still available on your league’s waiver wire, grab them first: 1. Rex Grossman, 2. Jon Kitna, 3. David Carr, 4. Alex Smith, 5. Chad Pennington, 6. Charlie Frye, 7. Matt Leinart, 8. Philip Rivers, 9. Brad Johnson, 10. Mark Brunell.

Bruce Gradkowski played really well in his first start. He threw for 225 yards and two TDs and no picks against a team (the Saints) that has been playing very good defense…Joey Harrington didn’t play particularly well (232 yards, 2 INT), but the Dolphins might stick with him until Daunte Culpepper can prove that he can move around a little better than he did in the first few games.

RUNNING BACKS

If available, add these guys before digging too deep, though if LJ is out Dee Brown would be at the top of this list: 1. Maurice Jones-Drew, 2. Cedric Benson, 3. Maurice Morris, 4. Jerious Norwood, 5. Michael Turner, 6. Correll Buckhalter

Dee Brown would be first in line to take over for Larry Johnson if the Chiefs’ stud is going to miss any time. Michael Bennett is also in the picture, but he’s been battling a hamstring injury. Needless to say, the Chiefs running game is still one of the league’s best, so Brown would be quite valuable if LJ is out for any duration…Leon Washington received 23 carries against the Jags, while Kevan Barlow only rushed four times. Washington ran for 101 yards, and it looks like the Jets want to get him more involved in the offense…Noah Herron took over for Vernand Morency after Morency fumbled his way out of the lineup. Herron touched the ball 25 times for 126 yards and a touchdown. He lacks breakaway speed, but he provided the tough yards when the Packers needed them the most…Depending on the status of DeAngelo William’s leg, Eric Shelton would be worth a pickup in deep leagues due to DeShaun Foster’s long history of injury.

WIDE RECEIVERS

If available, add these players before moving on to the rest of the list: 1. Marques Colston, 2. Reggie Williams, 3. Bernard Berrian, 4. Jerricho Cotchery

According to Dennis Green, Larry Fitzgerald is going to miss 2-5 weeks with a hamstring injury and Bryant Johnson is going to be the main beneficiary. Johnson is starter quality as long as Fitz is out…Arnaz Battle caught two TDs for the 49ers on Sunday and has at least two receptions in each game this season. Antonio Bryant is still the #1 guy, but Battle could be a decent bye week fill-in if he’s got a good matchup.

TIGHT ENDS

If available, add these players before moving on to the rest of the list: 1. Chris Cooley, 2. Desmond Clark, 3. Alex Smith, 4. Eric Johnson, 5. Alex Smith

Jerramy Stevens should return in Week 6 and is capable of being a Top 10 or 15 TE when healthy. If you have a need and an open roster spot, he’s a good guy to stash until he returns to the field.

Two stars were injured in the Cardinals/Chiefs game yesterday. Larry Johnson broke a short pass into a huge gain and then had his helmet twisted by Antrel Rolle as he hit the ground. It was a pretty vicious twist and LJ plans to have an MRI today to make sure everything is okay with his neck.

Larry Fitzgerald injured his hamstring on his 5-yard TD catch. He reportedly heard a pop, which is not good.

Fantasy Fallout: If LJ misses any time, Dee Brown is first in line to fill in for him, while Michael Bennett missed Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury. If Fitz is out, Bryant Johnson will step into the starting lineup and immediately becomes a very valuable waiver wire addition.

It was kind of a quiet day in the world of fantasy football – only a few players put up BIG numbers, while a lot of players were simply mediocre. However, an Eagle got revenge on a former teammate, “Fragile” Fred ran roughshod over the Jags, and a Jets QB fell back to Earth. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Donovan McNabb (354 yards, 2 pass TD, 1 rush TD)
In general, quarterbacks were pretty quiet on Sunday, except for McNabb, who continues to be the best at the position. It was important to him that he played well against T.O. and the Cowboys. In short, he delivered. His two pass TDs were wonderful bombs – on one he dodged a rusher before unloading it to Hank Baskett and on the other, the Eagles ran a flea-flicker to free up Reggie Brown. Look below – who would have guessed Smith, Huard and Gradkowski would be on this list?

Honorable Mention: Alex Smith (165 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Damon Huard (288 yards, 2 TD), Bruce Gradkowski (225 yards, 2 TD), Mark Bulger (220 yards, 2 TD)
Matt Leinart (253 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Rex Grossman (182 yards, 2 TD)

Fred Taylor (22 touches, 143 yards, 1 TD)
The Jets can’t stop the run so the Jags ran on them. And they ran some more, all the way to a 41-0 victory. It looks like Taylor will eventually give way to Maurice Jones-Drew, but he proved today that he’s still got plenty of gas left in the tank.

Honorable Mention: Larry Johnson (22 touches, 142 yards, 1 TD), Deuce McAllister (16 touches, 131 yards, 1 TD), Noah Herron (25 touches, 126 yards, 1 TD)
Cedric Benson (16 touches, 62 yards, 2 TD), Maurice Jones-Drew (13 touches, 59 yards, 2 TD), Frank Gore (30 touches, 172 yards), Chester Taylor (31 touches, 154 yards)

Joey Galloway (4 rec, 110 yards, 1 TD)
I could have gone with Baskett or Battle, but it’s doubtful anyone started them this week, so Galloway is the man. It looks like he is Gradkowski’s favorite target. Michael Clayton only caught one pass for seven yards.

Honorable Mention: Hank Baskett (3 rec, 112 yards, 1 TD), Arnaz Battle (4 rec, 37 yards, 2 TD), Lee Evans (9 rec, 94 yards, 1 TD), Greg Jennings (5 rec, 105 yards, 1 TD), Bernard Berrian (4 rec, 97 yards, 1 TD)

Randy McMichael (6 rec, 84 yards)
McMichael broke out of his funk, probably due to the QB change in Miami. Joey Harrington looked McMichael’s way a lot more than Daunte Culpepper has thus far this season.

Honorable Mention: Kellen Winslow (8 rec, 55 yards), Alex Smith (5 rec, 16 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Chad Pennington (71 yards, 3 INT)
I was all set to list Brunell here (after all, I did recommend starting him in the Pregame), but Pennington’s miserable day made that impossible. He had been playing great ball this season, but the Jaguars completely shut the Jets’ passing game down.

Dishonorable Mention: Mark Brunell (109 yards), Drew Bledsoe (223 yards, 3 INT, 1 Fumble), Charlie Frye (173 yards, 2 INT, 1 Fumble), Vince Young (63 pass yards, 1 INT, 43 rush yards, 1 rush TD), Andrew Walter (164 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT), J.P. Losman (115 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)

Kevin Jones (14 touches, 50 yards)
Maroney and Dillon produced less, but more people were counting on Kevin Jones to have a good game against the Vikings. KJ has a ton of talent, but he’s been nothing but a tease thus far in his career.

Dishonorable Mention: Laurence Maroney (18 touches, 38 yards), Corey Dillon (10 touches, 45 yards), Vernand Morency (8 touches, 24 yards), Willis McGahee (18 touches, 65 yards), Reuben Droughns (21 touches, 68 yards), Clinton Portis (19 touches, 76 yards)

Roy Williams (1 rec, 7 yards)
Williams left the game after his first and only reception with a neck stinger, sabotaging many a fantasy team in the process. He has been on a tear, but an injury like this could throw a monkey wrench into his season.

Dishonorable Mention: Drew Bennett (0 rec), Doug Gabriel (2 rec, 7 yards), Muhsin Muhammad (2 rec, 10 yards), Troy Williamson (2 rec, 11 yards), Laveranues Coles (3 rec, 19 yards), Donald Driver (3 rec, 24 yards), Braylon Edwards (3 rec, 27 yards)
Chris Chambers (5 rec, 29 yards, 1 rush 18 yard), Michael Clayton (1 rec, 7 yards, 1 rush 23 yards), Marques Colston (3 rec, 38 yards), Santana Moss (3 rec, 39 yards),
Terrell Owens (3 rec, 45 yards)

Jeremy Shockey (1 rec, 13 yards)
As well as the Giants played, you’d think Shockey’s line would look better than this, especially considering the comments he made after last week’s game.

Dishonorable Mention: Desmond Clark (1 rec, 12 yards), Dallas Clark (2 rec, 15 yards), Tony Gonzalez (1 rec, 25 yards)