Category: Fantasy Football (Page 316 of 324)

**THE MIAMI/KC GAME HAS BEEN MOVED TO FRIDAY SO BE SURE TO GET YOUR ROSTERS IN EARLY**

Every week, I submit six names to our faithful readers – three borderline fantasy players to start and three to bench. Here’s how I did last week:

START

Mark Brunell– 331 pass yards, 3 TDs – (HIT)
Brunell is back from the dead. He’s looking like he may be a fantasy starter.

Warrick Dunn – 22 carries, 100 yards, TD – (HIT)
Dunn looks great going forward with a hobbled Duckett out with injury.

Kevin Johnson – 4 catches, 23 yards – (MISS)
I went out on a limb with Detroit’s other KJ and he didn’t do a whole lot. However, he did lead the Lions in catches.

BENCH

Steve McNair – 259 yards, 2 INTs – (HIT)
Sure, he put up decent yardage, but he didn’t throw or run for a TD and had two picks in the loss.

Corey Dillon – DNP – (HIT)
I warned everyone about Dillon and then started him myself in one league when the Patriots activated him Sunday morning.

Chris Chambers – 3 catches, 50 yards – (HIT)
Frerotte threw for 267 yards and you’d think Chambers would get more than 50. Wes Welker (who?) led the team in yardage.

On to this week’s picks:

START

QB – Jake Plummer, DEN
Mark Brunell has another great matchup this week (San Francisco) but since I used him last week, I’ll go with Plummer this week against the Giants. He was great last week against the Patriots (262 yards and two scores) and New York is giving up 316 yards per game through the air, good for 2nd worst in the league.

RB – Chris Brown, TEN
As the Titans ease Travis Henry back into the fold, Brown should get lots of opportunities to run against a questionable Arizona defense.

WR – Az-Zahir Hakim, NO
I almost didn’t pick him because I didn’t want to look up how to spell his name, but Hakim should have a solid week against a very suspect Rams secondary, that has already allowed 12 passing touchdowns and is giving up 251 yards a game through the air.

BENCH

QB – Michael Vick, ATL
I’d bench McNair again but Vick, who is hobbled and is facing a tough Jets pass defense, should be benched if you have another decent option. The only wild card is that the game is Monday night and Vick strikes me as a player that would play better in front of a national television audience.

RB – Jamal Lewis, BAL
The struggling back is facing a very stout Bears defense that is giving up a paltry 86 rushing yards a game and hasn’t allowed a rushing TD so far this season.

WR – Mushin Muhammad, CHI
I don’t expect that Muhammad will find much space to work against a Ravens defense that has given up a meager 156 yards a game through the air. He may get a few receptions for 50-60 yards, but I think that will be it.

If you have any roster questions, please post them on this week’s Fantasy Q&A and we’ll give you answers. Though we can’t guarantee they’ll be the right ones.

Have roster questions? Not sure who you should start? Post all of your fantasy football questions here.

QUARTERBACKS

Assuming Mark Brunell and Josh McCown aren’t on your waiver wire, you may be looking for other options at the quarterback position. Here are a few guys that might be able to help.

Jamie Martin, STL – Marc Bulger was knocked out of the Monday night game with what is being called a “bruised shoulder.” That type of injury doesn’t sound particularly good, but he could be back next week. If he is going to miss any time, Jamie Martin will be a hot pickup. His numbers in relief were pretty good and the Rams have a QB-friendly offensive system, so he should be a good fantasy start until Bulger comes back.

Kelly Holcomb, BUF – I mentioned Holcomb in last week’s column and he performed pretty well on Sunday, throwing for 172 yards and two TDs. Considering the Bills got the win, I don’t see Holcomb going to the bench anytime soon and with WRs Eric Moulds and Lee Evans at his disposal, he will continue to put up decent numbers.

Chris Simms, TB – Well, Brian Griese’s season is over with a torn ACL and MCL, so that means Simms gets a chance to start. With a big lead Sunday, he wasn’t asked to do much (6/10, 69 yds), but he will soon have lots of opportunities to make plays. He’s the son of Phil Simms and was highly regarded coming out of high school, but has yet to make a splash in the NFL. This is his chance.

Matt Schaub, ATL – I mentioned Schaub in last week’s column and Vick re-injured his knee. Schaub is a nice play at QB depending on his matchup. He looked great against New England two weeks ago.

Jeff Garcia, DET – When Garcia is ready to play, he’ll be Detroit’s starter – that’s my guess, anyway. Harrington hasn’t been impressive and Garcia has a lot of history with HC Steve Mariucci. He should improve the Lions’ passing attack.

RUNNING BACKS

I mentioned Antowain Smith and Patrick Pass in last week’s column and both players were effective on Sunday. Assuming Corey Dillon returns after the bye week, Pass’ value should come back to Earth, but Smith has value as a #3 RB in most leagues.

Anthony Thomas, DAL – Surprisingly, Thomas got a load of carries (21) when Julius Jones was unable to play Sunday. Most pundits were predicting a lot of opportunities for Tyson Thompson, but HC Bill Parcells decided that Thomas should carry the load. I suspect Jones will be back next week, but if he isn’t, Thomas would be a decent fill-in.

Aaron Stecker, NO – Stecker and Antowain Smith split carries for the Saints. Stecker looks like he will be used more as the Saints try to come from behind in every game, but Smith will vulture goal line carries. Stecker is fairly valuable in leagues that reward one point per reception.

Chris Perry, CIN – Perry had a big receiving game Sunday, catching nine passes for 45 yards and a touchdown and continues to be a thorn in the sides of Rudi Johnson owners everywhere. He’s the reason that I didn’t draft Rudi in any leagues (save one, where I promptly traded him for Domanick Davis). Johnson will still get most of the carries but isn’t catching the ball much (8 receptions compared to Perry’s 27). It’s tough to like Perry’s value going forward, but if Rudi were to go down, Perry’s value would skyrocket.

Greg Jones / Alvin Pearman, JAX – The Jaguars surprised many by giving Jones 18 carries when Alvin Pearman was supposed to carry the load in Fred Taylor’s place. Jones responded with 77 yards and a score. If Fragile Fred misses anymore time, Jones appears to have the edge for the job after his performance Sunday. Pearman was the bigger factor in the passing game, catching five passes for 35 yards, but didn’t do much (22 yards) on the 15 carries he was given.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Doug Gabriel, OAK – Keep an eye out for news on the injury to Randy Moss, because if he misses any time, Gabriel will be the main beneficiary. On Sunday he caught five passes for 84 yards and made a couple of nice catches.

Brandon Jones, TEN – Drew Bennett is going to be out for two weeks with a broken finger, and Jones should become McNair’s go-to WR. On Sunday, he caught 5 passes for 82 yards. Don’t expect those numbers for the rest of the season, but he should be a decent fill-in for the next couple of weeks at least.

Justin McCareins, NYJ – There was a Justin McCareins sighting on Sunday. After getting blanked by Tampa Bay the week before, McCareins caught five passes for 116 yards against the Bills.

Jabar Gaffney, HOU – With Andre Johnson out with a calf injury, Gaffney caught 10 passes for 87 yards. If Johnson misses more time, Gaffney could be a nice pickup, especially in leagues that reward one point per reception.

TIGHT ENDS

Heath Miller, PIT – The rookie has played well in the last two games, catching eight passes for 108 yards and two scores. With Hines Ward out with an injury, Miller is getting a lot of the underneath stuff, and should post decent numbers until Ward returns (and maybe after).

Newsflash: The Vikings are in trouble. Of course, you knew that. Everyone knew that after the news got out about their floating sex party. Of course, just when you thought that maybe — maybe — the Vikings would respond by playing some inspired football, they instead get embarrassed by the Bears in a 28-3 loss. The box score is terrible: Daunte Culpepper threw two picks and completed just 26 of his 48 attempts (54%), no Minnesota WR topped 41 yards, and while Mewelde Moore had 109 total yards (57 rushing), he obviously failed to reach the end zone. Meanwhile, TE Jermaine Wiggins caught 10 passes, which is great in point-per-reception leagues, but with just 68 yards, Wiggins hardly set the world on fire this weekend.

At this point, it’s hard to recommend starting any Minnesota player. Travis Taylor has delivered some big games with Nate Burleson on the shelf, but he, like every other Vikings receiver (including Burleson, when he comes back), is far too inconsistent to be anything more than a last-ditch option. Moore is capable of putting up some impressive yardage totals but has failed to reach the end zone now in 15 career games. By default, Culpepper remains the team’s most attractive starting option, but with four TDs and 12 interceptions on the season, it may very well be time to bench all your Vikings, including Culpepper, until further notice.

SUNDAY HEADLINERS

Mark Brunell: 331 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Wow, who saw this one coming? Brunell was awful last year in nine starts for the ‘Skins, completing 118 of his 237 attempts for 1,194 yards, seven TDs and six INTs. That’s all good for 63.9 QB rating. This year? Try 85.7…and that’s before Sunday’s game. Brunell has now thrown for 300-plus yards each of the last two weeks and has at least two TD tosses in each of his four starts on the year. Of course, Santana Moss’ breakout season is probably making Brunell look better than he really is, but at this point, there are few safer fantasy QBs out there.

ALSO: Carson Palmer (272 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), Drew Bledsoe (312 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), Jake Plummer (262 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), Tom Brady (299 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)

Shaun Alexander: 22 carries, 141 yards, 4 TD
LaDainian Tomlinson is having another monster season (and delivered another monster performance this week), but Alexander is every bit as reliable and valuable as LT2. The Seattle back has always been a TD machine but after this game against the Texans, Alexander now already has 12 touchdowns on the season, a pace that would leave him with 32 for the season. Tomlinson, meanwhile, has 11 TDs and a slight edge in total yards. Any way you slice it, Alexander is an elite fantasy back and any talk of anyone other than LT and Alexander going 1-2 in drafts this year seems ludicrous in hindsight.

ALSO: LaDainian Tomlinson (31 carries, 140 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 39 yards, 1 TD; 1 passing TD); Willis McGahee (29 carries, 143 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 24 yards); Curtis Martin (18 carries, 148 yards, 1 TD); Tatum Bell (13 carries, 114 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 20 yards)

Santana Moss: 10 catches, 173 yards, 2 TD
The Redskins took a lot of heat for trading Laveranues Coles for Santana Moss straight up, but look at the numbers: Coles has 26 catches, 289 yards and one TD for the Jets, while Moss now has 33 catches, 631 yards and four TD in Washington. That’s a 2,019-yard, 12-TD pace, and that’s a great trade for the ‘Skins. For those of you who snagged Moss late, congrats.

ALSO: Chad Johnson (8 catches, 135 yards, 1 TD); Jeremy Shockey (5 catches, 129 yards, 1 TD); Steve Smith (6 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD); Rod Smith (6 catches, 123 yards, 1 TD)

SUNDAY FLATLINERS

Trent Dilfer: 147 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Considering Dilfer came into today’s match-up with the Ravens averaging 260 yards and better than a touchdown a game, the Cleveland QB was probably in a fair amount of starting lineups this week, especially with Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb both on byes. Granted, it’s not exactly surprising that Dilfer laid an egg against the Baltimore D, but owners who started him in a pinch were at least hoping for one TD. So were Browns fans.

ALSO: Daunte Culpepper (237 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT); Vinny Testaverde (161 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT); Tommy Maddox (154 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT); Trent Green (181 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)

Ricky Williams: 5 carries, 8 yards, 0 TD; 6 catches, 22 yards
If you watched ESPN this morning, you saw a report that said you could expect Williams to get plenty of work in his first game back from suspension. Maybe I misinterpreted that statement, because Ricky and Ronnie Brown each had 11 touches, with the rookie getting nine carries to Williams’ five. The Dolphins fell behind early in Tampa Bay, which could partially explain Ricky’s lack of carries, but until (unless?) Nick Saban establishes a starter, neither Miami back is a safe start.

ALSO: Jerome Bettis (4 carries, 4 yards, 0 TD); Kevin Jones (12 carries, 21 yards, 0 TD); Stephen Davis (13 carries, 27 yards, 0 TD); Anthony Thomas (21 carries, 47 yards, 0 TD)

Laveranues Coles: 4 catches, 33 yards, 0 TD
Coles has had games of 17, 16 and 33 yards, has topped out at 89 yards this year, and has scored just one touchdown. That translates into a 770-yard, two-TD pace, not to mention a terrible trade for the Jets.

ALSO: Randy Moss (0 catches – injury); Eddie Kennison (0 catches); Lee Evans (3 catches, 22 yards); Mike Williams (2 catches, 27 yards)

Each week, I highlight a few marginal guys to start and a few to bench. How did I do with last week’s picks? Let’s take a look:

START

David Carr – 131 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Thomas Jones – 142 total yards
Joe Jurevicius – 9 catches, 137 yards, 1 TD

BENCH

Byron Leftwich – 161 passing yards, 2 TDs
Curtis Martin – 59 yards, 2 TDs
Michael Clayton – 0 catches, 0 yards

What we learned: Carr will continue to struggle until the Texans can figure out how to protect him. Jurevicius will be a good play while Darrell Jackson recovers from minor knee surgery. Bucs HC John Gruden said Monday that they have to get the ball to Clayton more, but talk is cheap. Clayton is very undependable right now.

On to this week’s picks:

START

QB – Mark Brunell, WAS
Brunell has stepped in for Patrick Ramsey and answered the bell. Over the last three weeks, he’s thrown for an average of 280 yards and 2 TDs per game. This week he’s facing a Chiefs defense that has allowed an average of 273 yards through the air.

RB – Warrick Dunn, ATL
The Falcons face the Saints, who have given up a healthy 123 yards on the ground at a clip of 4.3 ypc. Dunn is averaging 95 yards per game, so he should crack the century mark and might find the endzone.

WR – Kevin Johnson, DET
I’m going out on limb with this pick and you should only start him if you are pretty desperate for WR help. The Lions WR corps has been decimated with injuries/suspensions and that leaves KJ as their #1 this week against a Carolina defense that has allowed 260 ypg through the air.

BENCH

QB – Steve McNair, TEN
McNair is the only mid-level guy that has a tough matchup this week. The Bengals have allowed 189 ypg and have twelve interceptions against four TDs over the first five games.

RB – Corey Dillon, NE
I recommend benching Dillon if possible for two reasons: 1) even though he’s listed as “probable,” there’s a pretty good chance that he won’t play and 2) even if he does play, his matchup against a pretty stout Denver rush defense isn’t very good.

WR – Chris Chambers, MIA
Chambers faces a tough TB defense this week. This one should be a low scoring affair with both teams trying to run the ball, so I don’t foresee a lot of opportunities for the Dolphin wideouts.

If you have any lineup questions, please post them in our Weekly Q&A.

KEY INJURIES:

Aaron Stecker – Q
Andre Johnson – Q
Antwaan Randle El – P
Ben Roethlisberger – D
Bobby Engram – O
Braylon Edwards – O
Carnell Williams – Q
Clinton Portis – P
Corey Dillon – P
Curtis Martin – P
Darrell Jackson – O
DeShaun Foster – Q
Drew Brees – Q
Ernie Conwell – Q
Fred Taylor – P
Hines Ward – Q
Isaac Bruce – D
Jimmy Smith – P
Julius Jones – Q
Lee Suggs – O
Michael Vick – Q
Nate Burleson – O
Roy Williams – Q
Rudi Johnson – P
Stephen Davis – Q
T. J. Houshmandzadeh – Q
Thomas Jones – Q
Todd Heap – P
Tom Brady – P
Torry Holt – Q
Troy Brown – P