Category: Fantasy Football (Page 288 of 324)

Most of Week 4 is behind us and there are several clear choices for this week’s Headliners and Flatliners. One QB torched his former coach’s new team, while a diminutive WR had a HUGE game against a pretty damn good defense. On the other hand, the QB situation in Arizona is a complete mess and a speedy Minnesota wideout can’t hold onto the ball. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Mark Bulger (328 yards, 3 TD)
After throwing for an average of 237 yards and 0.7 TD in the first three games, Bulger exploded against the Lions, exacting revenge on his former coach, Mike Martz. I don’t know if there is any bad blood between the two, but the way Bulger played, it certainly looked like he wanted to beat his old coach. The Rams are more of a ball control team now than they’ve been in the past decade, so I wouldn’t expect these kinds of numbers on a regular basis.

Honorable Mention: Mark Brunell (329 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Byron Leftwich (289 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Drew Brees (349 yards, 1 TD), Jon Kitna (280 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT), Peyton Manning (217 yards, 1 pass TD, 1 rush TD), Charlie Frye (192 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT), Damon Huard (208 yards, 2 TD), David Carr (230 yards, 1 pass TD, 1 INT, 1 rush TD)

Larry Johnson (34 touches, 142 yards, 2 TD)
Fantasy owners who drafted LJ over LT2 were rewarded today with a stellar effort from Johnson and the rest of the KC offense (while LT2 had a quiet day, thanks to Marty Schottenheimer’s propensity to sit on a lead). Of course, LJ put up these numbers against a suspect San Francisco defense, which simply looked clueless today. Still, it has to be encouraging for his owners after two outings without a TD to start the season.

Honorable Mention: Laurence Maroney (16 touches, 140 yards, 2 TD), Kevin Jones (24 touches, 97 yards, 2 TD), Steven Jackson (28 touches, 146 yards, 1 TD), LaMont Jordan (22 touches, 141 yards, 1 TD), Clinton Portis (29 touches, 140 yards, 1 TD), Julius Jones (23 touches, 122 yards, 1 TD), DeShaun Foster (17 touches, 111 yards, 1 TD), Joseph Addai (23 touches, 99 yards, 1 TD)

Santana Moss (4 rec, 138 yards, 3 TD)
Moss was hands-down the best WR on the day, torching the Jags for 138 yards and 3 TD, including the game winner in overtime. He caught TD passes from 55 yards and 68 yards out, making two terrific runs after the catch. The Jags have a pretty good defense, so it looks like the Washington offense is starting to catch on to Al Saunders’ complicated system.

Honorable Mention: Mike Furrey (8 rec, 82 yards, 2 TD), Reggie Williams (5 rec, 93 yards, 2 TD), Marques Colston (5 rec, 132 yards, 1 TD), Andre Johnson (9 rec, 101 yards, 1 TD), Torry Holt (6 rec, 102 yards, 1 TD), Isaac Bruce (7 rec, 100 yards, 1 TD), Steve Smith (10 rec, 87 yards, 1 TD), Roy Williams (9 rec,, 139 yards), Eddie Kennison (6 rec, 86 yards, 1 TD), Terry Glenn (5 rec, 54 yards, 2 TD)

Todd Heap (4 rec, 60 yards, 1 TD)
Heap was dinged up most of the week, but managed to grab four balls, including the game-winning TD with just less than three minutes to play in the game. Steve McNair has always leaned on his tight end, and it looks like he and Heap are developing a nice rapport in Baltimore.

Honorable Mention: Ben Troupe (3 rec, 39 yards, 1 TD), Kellen Winslow (3 rec, 31 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Kurt Warner (128 yards, 1 INT, 1 fumble), Matt Leinart (49 yards, 1 INT, 1 fumble)
I can’t choose between Warner and Leinart, so the Flatliner goes to both players, who combined for 177 yards, two INT and two fumbles in a horrific loss to the Falcons. It will be interesting to see which player Dennis Green starts next week – it’s not like Leinart did anything to earn the job. Given all the offensive weapons on the Arizona roster, these kinds of numbers are inexcusable.

Dishonorable Mention: Alex Smith (92 yards, 2 INT), Vince Young (155 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 fumble), Andrew Walter (68 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), Phillip Rivers (145 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)

Fred Taylor (8 touches, 23 yards)
The Redskin defense shut down Taylor, who pulled one of his disappearing acts this week. Maurice Jones-Drew continues to cut into his time, so it’s not clear how much value Taylor will have the rest of the season.

Dishonorable Mention: Jamal Lewis (15 touches, 34 yards), Chester Taylor (13 touches, 37 yards), Warrick Dunn (20 touches, 65 yards), Reggie Bush (15 touches, 70 yards), Edgerrin James (25 touches, 72 yards), Frank Gore (16 touches, 79 yards)

Troy Williamson (2 rec, 27 yards)
Anyone watching Minnesota this year knows that Williamson has been plagued with drops thus far. He had nine targets against the Bills and was only able to turn that into two catches. He has the speed to get open whenever he wants against single coverage, but his hands are a big problem right now.

Dishonorable Mention: Antonio Bryant (2 rec, 29 yards), Derrick Mason (4 rec, 37 yards), Anquan Boldin (4 rec, 42 yards), Randy Moss (1 rec, 5 yards, 1 TD)

Jason Witten (2 rec, 19 yards)
How exactly do the Cowboys put up 45 points yet Witten only catches two passes for 19 yards? It seems like some weeks he’s involved in the gameplan and, in others, he’s just an afterthought. It appears that the arrival of Terrell Owens has hurt Witten more than Terry Glenn.

Dishonorable Mention: Antonio Gates (4 rec, 41 yards), Alge Crumpler (2 rec, 30 yards), Ben Watson (1 rec, 35 yards)

ESPN has reported that Terrell Owens will start this week against the Titans. There has been talk of limiting his work, so don’t be surprised if he doesn’t play much if the Cowboys get out to a big lead…Vince Young is set to make his first start against the Cowboys…ESPN reported that it would be a surprise if Chris Henry is inactive for today’s game. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, the Bengals play in the late game, so we won’t know for sure until around 3 PM ET…Donte Stallworth doesn’t sound as sure that he’s going to play Monday night, using phrases like “you’ve got to be careful” and “I’m definitely encouraged” when describing his hammy. He’s got a great matchup against the Packers, but if you have a good option on your bench, it might be a good idea to exercise it…According to ESPN, Adam Vinatieri is out today with a sore groin. Get another kicker in there for him if he’s your starter…Travis Henry is a surprise inactive this week. He wasn’t on the injury report, so it appears that LenDale White has moved past him on the depth chart. It’s possible that last week’s featured role was meant to lead to a trade.

Reuben Droughns is still questionable, but he practiced fully on Friday and should have plenty of room to run against a poor Oakland rush defense…Todd Heap returned to practice on Friday and has been upgraded to probable. Heap is a must-start when he plays…Houston HC Gary Kubiak intends to split the carries between Samkon Gado and Ron Dayne. Hopefully for fantasy owners, one of these guys will separate himself from the other and earn the bulk of the work. If that doesn’t happen, expect this RBBC to continue throughout the season…Donte Stallworth returned to practice Friday and should play against the Packers on Monday night. An MRI revealed a slight strain in his hamstring. Stallworth has had hamstring problems his entire pro career, so this is an injury to watch. Stallworth has a great matchup this week against the Packers…After a strange week, Terrell Owens is officially a game-time decision for Sunday. The Dallas Morning News speculates that he’ll play, but he will be limited…Brian Westbrook returned to practice on Saturday and, barring a setback, looks good to go Monday night. Westbrook owners should have Correll Buckhalter on their roster for the rest of the season as Westbrook insurance…Desmond Clark will be a game-time decision Sunday night…Matt Jones practiced all week and should see his workload increase from last week, when he barely played at all…Kellen Winslow didn’t practice fully all week. He’s listed as questionable and it’s not clear whether or not he’s going to play. There is speculation that the Browns are holding him out to rest his knee…Steve Smith practiced fully all week. This is good news for Smith owners who were worrying about how that hammy would react after Sunday’s game…Frank Gore practiced all week and was upgraded to probable. He needs to hold onto the ball in short yardage to avoid losing those duties to Michael Robinson…Reggie Wayne will play against the Jets in Week 4 after dealing with his brother’s death this week…Corey Dillon is not listed on the injury report and is expected to start against the Bengals…The injury to the knee of Jevon Kearse is not nearly as bad as initially reported. The surgery revealed only torn meniscus and a fractured tibia. Kearse could have returned this season if he hadn’t already been placed on injured reserve.

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

A number of fringe starting QBs have good matchups this week. BRETT FAVRE faces an Eagles defense that has yielded 253 yards and 1.7 TD per game…DREW BLEDSOE faces a porous Titans secondary and should have Terrell Owens back in the lineup…DAUNTE CULPEPPER has a nice matchup against the Texans, though it’s tough to excited about a QB that could only put up 13 points on Tennessee…WARRICK DUNN didn’t have a very good game last week, but he’s a must-start against the Cardinals, who have allowed an average of 105 rushing yards and 1.3 rush TD per game…JOSEPH ADDAI also has a nice matchup against the Jets, who can’t seem to stop the run (134 rush yards and 1.7 rush TD per game)…CHRIS CHAMBERS deserves another shot, especially with his juicy matchup with the Texans…REGGIE BROWN also looks like a nice start against a Packers secondary that has yielded 301 yards and 1.7 TD per game through the air.

BENCH

KURT WARNER doesn’t have a good matchup against the Falcons who have allowed just 214 yards per game through the air and have yet to allow a passing touchdown…You should only bench MATT HASSELBECK if you have a good alternative, but his matchup with the Bears looks like a tough one. With Shaun Alexander out, the Seahawks could become one dimensional…JAMAL LEWIS faces a very tough San Diego defense that has had two weeks to prepare for Sunday’s game. The Chargers have allowed just 71 yards per game on the ground and have yet to yield a rushing TD…It’s no secret that THOMAS JONES has been struggling, and I doubt he’s going to find his groove this week against the Seahawks, who are second in the league in rushing yards allowed (59 per game) and haven’t allowed a rushing TD…TROY WILLIAMSON will probably find the going tough against a stingy Bills secondary that has allowed just 169 yards through the air…MARQUES COLSTON and JOE HORN should have problems getting open against the Panthers, who have yielded just 168 passing yards per game this season.

If you have roster questions, be sure to post them on the Fantasy Q & A. We’re happy to give you a second opinion.