After five weeks of the NFL season, one thing is for sure: parity is king. The unbeaten Patriots and Colts sit alone atop my latest NFL Power Rankings, but after that there are a lot of similarly flawed teams with similar records, including the 2-3 Chargers, the 2-3 Bears and the 1-4 Jets.
Category: NFL (Page 1103 of 1282)
Based on two games this past weekend, I don’t know what defense and special teams units to feel sorry for most – the Bills or the Falcons.
Buffalo’s defense and special teams units put on a show against the Cowboys Monday night, intercepting Tony Romo five times, returning two of those interceptions for touchdowns, and returning a 103-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Yet because of Buffalo’s sorry excuse for an offense, the Cowboys still won on a last second 53-yard field goal by Nick Folk. I realize the Bills special teams unit muffed up the onsides kick at the end of the game, but they should have never been in that situation to begin with.
Bills defense/special teams unit: 21
Bills offense: 3
Cowboys: 25
On Sunday against the Titans, the Falcons defense returned a fumble for a touchdown, caused another fumble on a punt, intercepted Vince Young three times and blocked a punt late in the fourth quarter to give their offense a chance to tie the game. Yet, because of Atlanta’s sorry excuse for an offense (which had an interception returned for a touchdown by the way), the Titans still won 20-13.
Falcons defense: 7 points and five gift-wrapped opportunities
Falcons offense: 6 points and allowed 7 points
Titans: 20
Vote now for which offense screwed its defense worse!
Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I’ll use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire of at least 40% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to talk about a player or two that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters.
QUARTERBACKS
Derek Anderson (47.4) has a great matchup in week 6 and then goes through a mediocre to tough stretch for the next several games…He has thrown six picks in the last three games, but he gets a ton of garbage yards and TD…David Garrard (39.7) has been steady and solid. He has three easy and four tough matchups in the next eight games so he might be a little spotty, but he’s thrown one touchdown in each of his first four games…Jason Campbell (29.9) has thrown three TD and zero INT in the last two games, and has had solid fantasy performances in the last three…Kurt Warner (7.3) will take over for Matt Leinart now that he’s out. Arizona has a load of offensive weapons, so it will be interesting to see if he’ll be able to post good numbers on a consistent basis…Brian Griese (16.5) has thrown two TD in each of his first two starts. He has also thrown four picks, but his yardage (250 ypg) has been good…Jeff Garcia (37.7) doesn’t throw for scores regularly, so he can’t be counted upon for solid games, but he doesn’t throw a lot of picks either…David Carr (7.9) will be the starter in Carolina now that Jake Delhomme has opted for season-ending surgery…Gus Frerotte threw for 262 yards and 3 scores against Arizona and should be a good fill in until Marc Bulger can get healthy…Trent Edwards (2.9) has a pretty nice schedule coming up with the Ravens, Jets and Bengals on tap in the next four weeks…Brodie Croyle (2.7) has a great matchup with the Bengals in week 6, making him a good pickup for the desperate…Kellen Clemens (1.7) would start if the Jets decide to yank Chad Pennington, but for now, Pennington is the starter.
RUNNING BACKS
Earnest Graham (53.2) is going to be the main ball carrier in Tampa now that Michael Pittman is out. Don’t be surprised if the Bucs sign another RB to shore up the position…Dominic Rhodes (38.0) could start if LaMont Jordan can’t go…Brian Leonard (44.9) continues to get the majority of the work in St. Louis, and played well against the Cards (135 total yards). Steven Jackson is going to miss another week, so that leaves Leonard to face the Ravens… Selvin Young (14.9) saw a big boost this week with the news about Travis Henry’s positive drug test. It looks like Henry is going to fight it, which means that Young may not get his shot for another month, or as long as the appeal takes…Vernand Morency (53.5) is back and looked good as he gained 91 total yards and caught seven passes, making him a nice pickup in PPR leagues. He’s going to split time with DeShawn Wynn (and Brandon Jackson, when he comes back), so don’t get too excited…DeShawn Wynn (26.1) looked great at the start of Sunday night’s game, but gave up snaps to Morency when he came down with cramps. This looks like a RBBC until one of these guys establishes himself as a star…Ron Dayne (23.3) had another decent game in place of Ahman Green and should continue to get most of the work for the Texans as long as Green is out… Najeh Davenport (14.9) stole a couple TD from Willie Parker and his value would skyrocket if Parker were to go down. As of now, however, he’s nothing but a desperate bye-week fill in…Kenton Keith (6.5) went off and will continue to be very valuable until Joseph Addai comes back, probably after the Colts’ bye…Jason Wright (0.2) filled in admirably for Jamal Lewis, who had to leave Sunday’s game with a foot sprain. Lewis will undergo a MRI this week, and the results will determine Wright’s value for week 6.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Antwaan Randle El (50.6) should continue to thrive as long as Santana Moss is out. He injured his hammy on Sunday, but he should be good to go next week…Patrick Crayton (44.0) is still a nice prospect as the WR2 in Dallas, though his week-to-week output looks to be a bit spotty…Bobby Engram (36.2) should see his role increase now that Deion Branch is out for two weeks. He had a quiet game against Pittsburgh, but has the Saints and Rams over the next two weeks…Andre Davis (14.8) will continue to perform with Andre Johnson out with injury. He’s not going to put up big points every week, but he’s solid in PPR leagues…Like Engram, Nate Burleson (16.6) should see his opportunities increase with the absence of Branch…Devery Henderson (51.7) dropped a big pass on Sunday, but he also caught four balls for 101 yards in the loss. The Saints say they might go to a rotation at WR2, but Henderson is the most talented wideout after Marques Colston…Roddy White (33.0) continues to be involved in the Falcons’ offense, but his weekly production has a lot to do with the quality of the QB play. If Joey Harrington tanks, so will White…Anthony Gonzalez (17.3) will fill in for Marvin Harrison while he’s out, though he should be back in week 7…James Jones (15.4) continues to be a solid bye week option in PPR leagues.
TIGHT ENDS
Owen Daniels (60.1) should be owned in all leagues, especially in PPR leagues. He has caught 23 passes over the last four weeks…Greg Olsen (41.9) made a couple of big plays against the Packers, but he’s still playing behind Desmond Clark (31.6), who is a favorite of Brian Griese. Clark has caught a TD in each of the last two games…Donald Lee plays a consistent role in the Packers’ offense which makes him a good backup option at TE…Eric Johnson (14.6) has caught 10 passes over the last two games and should benefit when (or is it if?) the Saints’ offense gets back on track…Alex Smith (5.1) caught two TD on Sunday and has caught at least two passes in every game this season.
Setting aside James Jones’ two fumbles in the first half, the Packers led 20-10 with under five minutes to play in the third quarter when Brett Favre made his first horrible decision of 2007 by trying to throw across his body for a first down. With a 10-point lead and the defense playing well, there was no reason for him to make the throw, but Favre will do that from time to time, and as a Packer fan, I’ve learned to live with it.
On the ensuing play, Brian Griese threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen, which put the Bears within three points. On the next possession, the Packers ran the ball three straight times and failed to get a first down. They punted the ball away and the defense forced a Bears punt, which the Packers fumbled – their fourth turnover of the night. After a Robbie Gould field goal, the Packers next possession consisted of a run for no gain, a short incompletion and a 5-yard completion to Bubba Franks. It’s like the Packers suddenly forgot how to run an offense.
And so the fourth quarter went, with the two teams punting the ball back and forth. It’s understandable that the Bears couldn’t move the ball – they haven’t been able to move the ball all season. But the Packers, who racked up over 300 yards of offense in the first half, had no excuse. The defense picked off Brian Griese, but Green Bay failed to do anything with it. Finally, the Bears made a play, completing a 27-yard pass to Olsen, which set up a Desmond Clark touchdown on a third-and-two from the Packers 34-yard line. Nick Collins mysteriously bit on an already-covered route in the flat, allowing Clark to run right past him and get behind him for the score.
The Packers two-minute offense was pretty brutal. The team wasted a ton of time with a long snap count, instead of moving to a quick snap. The decision to challenge the spot on the Bears’ last possession came back to bite Mike McCarthy, since his team was without one of its timeouts. By the time Green Bay crossed midfield, they were in desperation mode and the Bears were just sitting back in their zone, waiting for an opportunity. Brandon McGowan picked off Favre in the endzone, sealing the game for the Bears.
This is the kind of game that could come back to haunt the Packers – a division loss, at home, to their archrival. They had the game in hand and just gave it away. They built a lead by spreading the field and letting their receivers make plays and they blew it by trying to run down the Bears’ throats out of the I-formation. For the first 22 minutes of the second half, Favre only targeted his receivers one time, on the Brian Urlacher interception. Given how easily they moved the ball via slants and deep routes in the first half, that’s just inexcusable.
Trent Green, Deion Branch, Santonio Holmes, Jamal Lewis, Michael Pittman, Matt Leinart, Damon Huard and Calvin Johnson all left their respective games due to injury on Sunday. With the bye weeks in full swing, some fantasy owners are scrambling to put together a decent starting lineup.
If you have questions, we’ve got answers. They may not be the correct answers, but they’re still answers.
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