Category: Fantasy Football (Page 295 of 324)

Well, we’re off and running. There were some great performances Sunday from some very surprising players. “Glass” Chad tore up Tennessee, Gore ran all over the Cards and a new Eagle flew past the Texans. On the other side of the spectrum, some very big names put up some very disappointing numbers. All right, enough with the tease, let’s get right to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners:

SUNDAY HEADLINERS

Chad Pennington (319 yards, 2 TD)
It’s tempting to award this honor to Donovan McNabb, but he’ll make this list again this season. Pennington is so fragile that this might be his one and only opportunity to be recognized. When he’s healthy, he’s an accurate quarterback with great decision skills. He and Laveranues Coles have a great rapport – the duo hooked up eight times for 153 yards, shredding the woeful Titans defense en route to a 23-16 win. Enjoy it while you can, Jet fans.

ALSO: Donovan McNabb (314 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Mike Vick (140 yards, 2 TD), Byron Leftwich (237 yards, 1 pass TD, 1 rush TD, 1 INT), Alex Smith (288 yards, 1 TD)

Frank Gore (170 total yards, 2 TD)
When the 49ers shipped Kevan Barlow off to the Jets, it was a huge vote of confidence for Gore, who won the job this preseason after averaging 4.8 ypc last year. On Sunday, he averaged 5.4 ypc against the Cardinals and added six catches for 83 yards. He looks like a good start as long as those knees hold up.

ALSO: Brian Westbrook (132 total yards, 1 TD), Warrick Dunn (142 total yards), Larry Johnson (140 total yards), Steven Jackson (140 total yards), Reggie Bush (119 total yards), Julius Jones (111 total yards, 1 TD), Ahman Green (132 total yards)

Donte Stallworth (6 catches, 141 yards, 1 TD)
Talk about immediate impact. I thought it would take a while for Stallworth to work into the Philly offense, but McNabb sure knows how to make a guy feel welcome. This could spell trouble for Reggie Brown, who was only targeted six times compared to Stallworth’s nine. But McNabb loves to spread the ball around, so Brown should still get his.

ALSO: Laveranues Coles (8 catches, 153 yards), Larry Fitzgerald (9 catches, 133 yards), Antonio Bryant (4 catches, 114 yards), Drew Bennett (8 catches, 106 yards), Muhsin Muhammad (6 catches, 102 yards), Andre Johnson (6 catches, 101 yards), Donald Driver (7 catches, 96 yards), Terrell Owens (6 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD)

Tony Gonzalez (10 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD)
Gonzo went off Sunday, catching six balls for 55 yards and a score – and that was after Trent Green left the game with an injury. Of course, the Chiefs were in full-on catch up mode at that point, which might become a trend if the offensive line isn’t able to protect the quarterback. Still, it doesn’t look like KC is keeping Gonzo in to block – and why would they? He’s clearly the team’s best receiver.

ALSO: Kellen Winslow (8 catches, 63 yards, 1 TD)

SUNDAY FLATLINERS

Jake Plummer (138 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT)
Surely more fantasy owners were counting on Plummer this Sunday, which is why he gets the nod over Chris Simms and his miserable performance. Plummer was harassed by Jim Haslett’s defense the entire day and, in addition to the three picks, he also lost a fumble. A few more games like this and the fans in Denver will be screaming for Jay Cutler. Not to worry, Skeletor will straighten things out next week.

ALSO: Chris Simms (133 yards, 0 TD, 3 INT), Brett Favre (170 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT), Trent Green (90 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT), Drew Bledsoe (246 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)

Carnell Williams (8 carries, 22 yards)
The Caddy needs a tuneup. Actually, playing any defense other than the Ravens would probably help. Unfortunately for Williams, he faces Atlanta and Carolina the next two weeks. Fantasy owners that drafted him in the late first/early second are going to need more than 2.8 ypc this season to be successful, but they might have to wait a month before they see a vast improvement in his numbers.

ALSO: Shaun Alexander (19 carries, 51 yards), Wali Lundy (11 carries, 32 yards)

Javon Walker (3 catches, 41 yards), Rod Smith (3 catches, 34 yards)
It’s tempting to give the nod to Roy Williams, who was supposed to explode in Mike Martz’ offense (which mustered only six points against the Seahawks), or Joey Galloway, who put up a goose egg against the Ravens – but collectively, Walker and Smith were bigger disappointments. Walker was able to get open, but had hands of stone, while the ageless Smith couldn’t shake loose like he has in years past. The Rams defense is a lot better than advertised, so maybe a date with the Chiefs at home will be just what the doctor ordered.

ALSO: Roy Williams (3 catches, 36 yards), Lee Evans (2 catches, 25 yards), Joey Galloway (0 catches, 0 yards)

Jason Witten (3 catches, 33 yards)
With nine targets, Witten is still a favorite target of Drew Bledsoe, but he had a touchdown nullified because he interfered with the defender, while two more balls meant for the Pro Bowler were picked off. All in all, it was a tough day for Witten and the rest of the Cowboys.

11:30 AM: ESPN’s John Clayton reported that Kerry Collins will start for the Titans…T.J. Houshmandzadeh looked shaky in warmups and isn’t likely to play today. Chris Henry will start in his place and is a good option for fantasy owners scrambling to replace Housh.

11:55 AM: Steve Smith is out this week with a sore hamstring. Keary Colbert is expected to start in his place.

12:30 PM: On “Sunday NFL Countdown,” after Michael Irvin said that a win in the Giants/Colts game would be more important to Eli Manning than it would be to Peyton Manning, Tom Jackson asked Irvin, “Are you retarded?”

3:20 PM: Trent Green was taken off the field on a stretcher after an apparent head injury…Damon Huard replaced him…Green’s departure hurts the entire Kansas City offense, and if he’s out for more than one week, the values of Tony Gonzalez and Eddie Kennison will certainly take a hit.

Randy Moss voiced his displeasure with the way things are going thus far in Oakland, ranging from the Doug Gabriel trade to the handling of the Jerry Porter situation (who, by the way, parked in Al Davis’ personal parking space this week)…Mike Vanderjagt is not expected to play in Week 1…Joe Gibbs said that Clinton Portis will be used as a backup in Week 1. Portis basically ruled himself out of the game earlier in the week but now says he’s “93.9%” healthy (whatever that means). It’s hard to get a handle on Portis’ availability, but it would be wise not to count on him this week. If he practices next week, then he’d be worth a start in Week 2…The Seahawks are planning to give Darrell Jackson about 25 snaps on Sunday to work him back into game shape. WRs normally get around 60 snaps in a game, so don’t expect D-Jax to put up his usual numbers. By most accounts, Nate Burleson has had a great preseason and could have a comeback year after a miserable 2005.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh is listed as questionable and missed his third straight day of practice. As of now, he’s going to be a game-time decision for Sunday. Chris Henry is a nice option for Housh owners…Clinton Portis basically ruled himself out for Week 1 and is targeting Week 2 for his return, leaving the possibility open that he may not return until later. This is obviously bad news for Portis owners, who should be scrambling to their waiver wires trying to add Ladell Betts to their roster, if they failed to do so on draft day…Steve Smith will be a game-time decision as well. My gut tells me that he’s not going to play. Bench him if you have a decent option and stay alert on Sunday morning. If there’s word that he’s going to play, you’ll probably only have a few minutes to put him into your lineup…The Steelers signed Najeh Davenport. This is bad news for Willie Parker owners as Davenport is reminiscent of Jerome Bettis in build. Pittsburgh could be planning to use Davenport as a goal line back…Alvis Whitted is going to start opposite Randy Moss, with Ron Curry and Jerry Porter starting the season as backups…It looks like Texans’ HC Gary Kubiak plans to use Wali Lundy and Vernand Morency in a RBBC, with Lundy playing “a bit more.”

Al Michaels is a pro. He’s probably the best play-by-play in the business.

Ronnie Brown looks like the real deal. His pass-catching skills have improved. That was a pretty nice snag on that first series, even if it didn’t go for a first down.

I loved that Sprint NFL Mobile commercial with Peyton Manning in disguise. The moustache is falling of as he says, “You can watch exclusive game highlights of all your favorite players. Like Peyton Manning. That guy’s pretty good – if you like 6’5”, 230 pound quarterbacks, laser, rocket arm.” Gotta love that hair.

Verron Haynes is the Steelers’ third down back. This will limit Parker’s pass catching opportunities.

Miami’s ball – 3rd and 4 near midfield. Culpepper has Marty Booker wide open at the first down marker and he completely misses him. This is what worries me about Daunte – he’s got a good career completion percentage, but he’s not all that accurate of a passer. An immobile Daunte Culpepper is a very scary proposition.

Pittsburgh’s ball 4th and 1 from Miami’s 39. I love the decision to go for it and I love the play call. If you’ve got a 4th and short inside your opponent’s 40-yard line and you’re not in field goal range, you have to go for it. I’m so tired of seeing punts in this situation that end up rolling into the endzone for a touchback. The play call was great – a little misdirection and the pitch to Parker, letting him use his 4.3 speed to outrun the Miami defense to the first down marker. It’s a much different approach than the one they used last year, but just as effective.

Nate Washington made a great catch on that TD – he went up, made the snag and took the hit from the safety. Not a bad throw from Charlie Batch, either. It looks like Washington is going to do the kind of things that Antwaan Randle El did last season.

10 minutes left in the first half and Chris Chambers still doesn’t have his first catch of the season. Let’s throw him a three-yard out just to get him on the board. (Can you tell I’ve got him in a league or two?)

Wes Welker looks like a good returner – don’t be surprised if he scores a couple of TDs this season for Miami’s special teams.

Culpepper threw a beautiful touch pass to Welker and then, on another play, the receiver took a pass and made something out of nothing. He might be this year’s Brandon Stokley, but he’s going to have a tough time getting on the field with Chambers and Booker ahead of him.

Speaking of Chambers, he and Culpepper really looked out of synch in the first half.

It’s good to see Sterling Sharpe working on the big stage again. He’s smart, eloquent and he knows the game.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Ben Roethlisberger looks like Will Ferrell after a weekend bender in Vegas.

If Willie Parker gets 12-13 carries per half behind that talented Steeler offensive line, he’s going to have a very productive season. He’s showing some cutback ability that he didn’t have last year.

Hines Ward’s hammy (say that five times fast) looks fine. He’s having no trouble getting open. But he’s starting to do that Antonio Freeman backpedal when he catches the ball in the middle of the field. I’d like to see him turn up field, but he seems content to wait for the contact.

Finally, 7:23 left in the third, and Chambers gets his first catch.

Ronnie Brown runs like Rudi Johnson. He never seems to go down on the first hit.

After the touchdown drive that gave the Dolphins a 17-14 lead, it sure looked like they were going to take control of the game, but back-to-back Miami penalties on the next possession helped the Steelers out of a big hole. Next thing you know, the Steelers give the ball back on the Miami goal line. Ouch.

Batch’s third touchdown pass was another beauty to Heath Miller, who showed some surprising speed to get to the pylon. Unfortunately, Saban didn’t do a very good job of challenging the call.

What’s Chris Collinsworth doing these days? I like it when he said he was just “running around.” He takes a lot of abuse, but I actually like Collinsworth.

Daunte Culpepper throws his second interception is as many pass attempts. A friend of mine always says, “Daunte Culpepper wants to give you the ball.” Is there anything worse for a quarterback than to throw an interception for a touchdown and then get blocked to the turf just as the defender crosses the goal line?

Chambers looks a lot better in the second half. Of course, five catches for 59 yards will make a lot of guys look better. I’ll take it after that goose egg in the first half.

Well, Daunte turned the ball over and Pittsburgh won their home opener. No big shockers there.