Category: Fantasy Football (Page 318 of 324)

Peyton Manning finally put up numbers worthy of a first round pick while Kevin Jones was benched in the second half of his game for unknown reasons. What does this mean for your team? Who knows. Post your roster questions here and we’ll give you our opinion.

QUARTERBACKS

Mark Brunell, WAS – Brunell has settled into the starting role nicely, throwing for 517 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games. He appears to be a solid fantasy backup going forward.

Josh McCown, ARI – McCown lit up a suspect San Francisco defense for 385 yards and two touchdowns. He won’t have those numbers every week, but he should top 200 yards and throw for a TD or two when the matchup is favorable.

Kelly Holcomb, BUF – If you are in dire need of QB help and have room on your roster, it might be a good time to pick up Holcomb. Starter J.P. Losman has thrown for just 433 yards in four games, tallying one touchdown against three interceptions, resulting in a quarterback rating of 55.9. Holcomb proved a capable thrower during his stint in Cleveland, and with a pretty good group of skill position players around him, he should be able to post good numbers if given the opportunity.

RUNNING BACKS

Michael Pittman, TB – Carnell Williams owners will be scrambling this week to pick up his backup as Williams nurses a sore hammy. His status for next week’s game is uncertain, but if the injury was enough to knock him out of the game, there’s a good chance he’ll miss at least one week. Hamstring injuries are notoriously difficult to predict, so he may miss some time.

Artose Pinner, DET – Kevin Jones was inexplicably benched in the second half of the game against the Bucs and received only 4 carries in the second half. The team claims he’s healthy, so the reason for the light duty is unclear. Pinner received six touches in the second half so Kevin Jones owners may want to pick up Pinner as insurance in case this situation continues. If the backs start to split time, neither will hold much fantasy value, so hopefully Mariucci will decide on a guy (preferably Jones for all those who drafted him in the first two rounds) and give the guy a lot of work. It’s hard to imagine Jones not being the guy in Detroit, but stranger things have happened.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Shaun McDonald, STL – In last week’s waiver watch, I mentioned Kevin Curtis as the main beneficiary of Isaac Bruce’s absence, and he didn’t disappoint Sunday catching six passes for 78 yards, but it was McDonald who shined hauling in nine for 121 yards. If Bruce continues to miss time, McDonald and Curtis will have a chance to shine in the Rams’ pass happy offense.

TIGHT ENDS

David Martin, GB – With Bubba Franks ailing and Javon Walker out for the year, there are quite a few extra targets going around Green Bay. Throw in the fact that the Packers seem to constantly be coming from behind, and you have the makings for a productive receiving corps. Martin is the main TE target in the passing game, with or without Franks’ presence, and is becoming one of Favre’s favorite targets. If you need TE help, especially in the short term, Martin is worth a look.

Quick: Who’s the best rookie in the league? Cadillac Williams, obviously. After ripping off three-straight 100-yard games to open his career, Williams not only looked like the best choice in this year’s mega-hyped RB draft class, he also looked like a top-10 back in fantasy leagues and a weekly must-start. But after gaining just 13 yards on 11 carries and leaving the game early with a hamstring injury Sunday against the Lions, there are suddenly some serious questions surrounding the Caddy, the main one concerning his durability. Not the healthiest back in college, Williams was given an insane workload during those first three NFL games, topping out at 37 carries last week against the Packers. Already nursing a sore foot, Cadillac now must deal with a hamstring problem. No word yet on how serious the injury is, but if Jon Gruden doesn’t cut down a bit on Williams’ workload, this most likely won’t be the last time we’re talking about an injury to the explosive rookie this year.

SUNDAY HEADLINERS

The Manning Brothers
Eli arrived Sunday and Peyton reestablished himself as the game’s best quarterback. Playing a weak St. Louis defense, Eli Manning threw for 296 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Giants to a 44-24 win. Don’t look now, but the Giants have one of the game’s best offenses and Eli, with nine touchdowns and just two picks through four weeks, looks like a more than capable #2 fantasy quarterback and a fine start depending on the match-up.

Meanwhile, older brother Peyton torched the Titans for 264 yards and four touchdowns of his own. After a two-week touchdown drought, this is exactly the kind of game Manning owners needed.

Eight touchdowns, no interceptions and two wins? I’d call that a great day for the Manning clan.
ALSO: Donovan McNabb (369 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT), Marc Bulger (442 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT)

LaDainian Tomlinson: 25 carries, 134 yards, 2 TD; 3 catches, 34 yards
After a slow start, Tomlinson now has 326 rushing yards and five touchdowns the last two weeks. The top overall pick in most drafts, LT is once again proving why.
ALSO: LaMont Jordan (26 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches, 22 yards), Tiki Barber (24 carries, 128 yars, 1 TD), Warrick Dunn (18 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD)

Plaxico Burress: 10 catches, 204 yards, 2 TD
A fellow owner in one of my leagues actually laughed out loud when I selected Burress this year, saying the former Steeler didn’t even deserve to be on someone’s roster this year. Pardon the cliche, but look who’s laughing now. At 6-5, Burress is a tantalizing target, especially downfield and in the red zone. The problem is, Burress never had anyone in Pittsburgh who could throw the deep ball. Plax, meet Eli. Burress has quickly established himself as Manning’s favorite target, totaling 396 yards and four touchdowns in four games. With the way the Giants’ offense is rolling, don’t expect a letdown anytime soon.
ALSO: Terrell Owens (11 catches, 171 yards, 1 TD), Marvin Harrison (9 catches, 109 yards, 2 TD), Joey Galloway (7 catches, 166 yards, 1 TD), Eddie Kennison (7 catches, 109 yards, 1 TD), Donte Stallworth (8 catches, 129 yards)

SUNDAY FLATLINERS

J.P. Losman: 75 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
Losman’s been terrible for the Bills this year, throwing for 358 yards and one solitary touchdown in the first three games of the year, all with a nifty 48.1 completion percentage, and now the second-year QB was benched in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 19-7 loss to the Saints after failing to exploit one of the game’s worst defenses. In his brief game action, backup Kelly Holcomb completed three of his six attempts for 28 yards, but Willis McGahee, Lee Evans and Eric Moulds owners should all be praying the Bills make a permanent switch to Holcomb because, with Losman behind center, none of the Bills are playing up to their fantasy potential. Holcomb may not be a superstar but he’s a proven veteran who could certainly kickstart the Bills offense. Head coach Mike Mularkey said Losman was still his starter after the Saints game today, but Holcomb should get a shot soon.
ALSO: Joey Harrington (137 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT), Aaron Brooks (172 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT), Daunte Culpepper (250 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT)

Chris Brown: 10 carries, 31 yards, 0 TD
When Travis Henry was suspended four games, everyone jumped onto the Chris Brown bandwagon, and for good reason. Brown was explosive last year before having his season cut short due to injury. Now with Henry out for the next four games, Brown, who’d been sharing carries with the former Buffalo back in an effort to keep him healthy, would once again be The Man. But in his first game since Henry’s suspension, Brown was unable to get much of anything going against the Colts. He should have an easier go against Houston next week but the Bengals await after that, which means Brown may not be quite as valuable in Henry’s absence as his owners had initially expected.
ALSO: Brian Westbrook (9 carries, 15 yards; 6 catches, 33 yards; 0 TD), Curtis Martin (13 carries, 30 yards, 0 TD), Larry Johnson (7 carries, 34 yards, 0 TD)

Tony Gonzalez: 2 catches, 5 yards, 0 TD
The first or second tight end off the board in every draft this year, Gonzo has failed to deliver, with 16 catches, 129 yards and no touchdowns in four games. Guys like Steve Heiden and Chris Baker have out-produced Gonzalez to this point, and while that’s not likely going to last, we also may be in for a rare down year for Gonzo, perhaps similar to 2002’s 773-yard, 7-TD performance. The good news is, there’s still time to turn it around, but for whatever reason, the Chiefs haven’t seemed all that interested in getting Gonzalez involved in the offense.
ALSO: Michael Clayton (2 catches, 11 yards), Andre Johnson (3 catches, 38 yards), Laveranues Coles (1 catch, 16 yards), Deion Branch (1 catch, 6 yards)

Last week’s picks:

START

QB – Brian Griese – 139 pass yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT
RB – Willis McGahee – 140 rush yards, 1 TD
WR – Daunte Stallworth – zero catches

BENCH

QB – Michael Vick – 167 pass yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 64 rush yards
RB – Ahman Green – 85 total yds, 0 TDs
WR – Robert Ferguson – 4 catches, 68 yds, 1 TD

What we learned: While Griese’s yardage numbers weren’t overly impressive, the two TDs made for a good day. McGahee is officially back and should be a weekly start against all but the top rush defenses, even though the Bills have no passing game. Stallworth was a big disappointment after a huge day against the Giants and playing from behind all day against the Vikings. He’s far too inconsistent to be counted on. Vick performed well with a bad hammy. Ferguson looks like an every week start, no matter whom Green Bay faces.

This week’s picks:

START

QB – Jake Delhomme, CAR
Delhomme is coming off a huge day against the Dolphins, throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns. This week, he faces a vulnerable Packers defense on Monday night. There’s no one in the secondary that can cover Steve Smith, so the duo should have a big outing.

RB – Kevan Barlow, SF
It’s hard to get very excited about the 49er running game, but if there is a good matchup on the team’s schedule, this week is it. The Cardinals are giving up 131 yards per game on the ground, which is the fifth worst in the league. Barlow should be good for 85-100 total yards and a TD.

WR – Kevin Curtis, STL
With Isaac Bruce listed as doubtful and a questionable Giants pass defense (285 pass yards per game) on tap, Kevin Curtis should have a big day. Unless you have a very solid #2 WR, Curtis is worth a start.

BENCH

QB – Jake Plummer, DEN
This week, the Broncos go on the road to play a stingy Jacksonville defense at sea level. The Jaguars are only allowing 142 pass yards per game, good for second best in the league, so odds are against Plummer having a big day.

RB – Kevin Jones, DET
I’m a KJ owner myself, so I know how impatient his owners are getting with his recent performance. He faces Tampa Bay this week and Baltimore next, so if you have any other decent options, you may want to utilize them. I think he’ll eventually get it going, but it probably won’t happen until Week 6 when Detroit faces Carolina.

WR – Derrick Mason, BAL
Even with a week off, I don’t think the Ravens’ passing game is going to fare well against a pretty stingy Jets pass defense (176 pass yards allowed per game). Mason may catch some of the underneath stuff, but I don’t think he’ll find the endzone this week.

KEY INJURIES

Arnaz Battle – P
Bubba Franks – Q
Carnell Williams – P
Chad Pennington – O
Courtney Anderson – P
David Akers – O
Donald Driver – P
Donovan McNabb – P
Isaac Bruce – D
Jason Hanson – Q
Joe Horn – Q
John Hall Q
Kurt Warner – O
Kyle Boller – O
Marc Bulger – P
Nate Burleson – O
Rod Smith – P
Rudi Johnson – P
Tatum Bell – P
Terrell Owens – P
Tom Brady – P

“Fast” Willie finally had a bad game and LT2 finally caught a pass. Kurt Warner and Chad Pennington are out with injuries. What does this mean for your fantasy squad?

Post all of your Week 4 roster questions here.