Yup...another week in the books and yet another
week where everything is the opposite of expected.
Favre and the Packers are sucking crack heading
into this week so one would expect a collapse on
the road in a dome (where Favre always struggles).
What do we get? Packer domination. The Jags are
struggling, Chiefs come off the bye...should be
a solid Chiefs win...wrong. Jeff Garcia- 4 td's...Steve
McNair- 4 INT's...detecting a trend? Tennessee loses
at home to Houston? Willie Green rushes for over
100 yards? I'm afraid to ask what's next. All I
learned this week is I don't know what I think I
know, I know that I don't know what I thought I
know, and never send your opponent Pepto-Bismol
before a game.
Decisions, Decisions
Obviously, Mewelde Moore has excited fantasy leaguers
with his play, as he had another fine game on Sunday
night, totaling 187 yards from scrimmage. Yet Moore
will now only create more confusion in the Minnesota
backfield. What will the Vikings do when Michael
Bennett and Onterrio Smith return? Moore has played
too well to sit him down. There are no surefire
answers yet, but it has been clear that the Vikings
are fully willing to let backs share touches. So
even if Moore continues to play, his workload will
surely decrease sometime in November, when the Vikings
might have four healthy RBs again.
Tight Ends
Good tight ends are hard to come by which is why
we covet Tony Gonzalez, Todd Heap and Jeremy Shockey
and why we loved Shannon Sharpe, Wesley Walls and
Ben Coates. But Heap has missed a lot of time because
of an ankle injury and Gonzalez and Shockey have
underachieved. Luckily there have been a group of
young tight ends that have stepped up in a very
big way. At the top of the list is Eric Johnson
who despite being a game-time decision because of
bruised ribs had another career game for the 49ers
catching 13 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.
Statistically he's the best at his position this
year and he's quickly becoming one of the top fantasy
options in the game. Antonio Gates is also having
a big year and kept things going with a solid Week
5 performance. His 8 receptions, 93 yards and 2
touchdowns helped give the San Diego Chargers a
surprising win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and
as the team's best receiver he will have a lot of
opportunities to produce. And finally Daniel Graham,
who's 1-yard touchdown catch against the Dolphins
brings his season total to 5 in 4 games. Graham
was coming off what many considered a disappointing
season but he's turned things around and he's having
a breakout year. Now I'm not ready to group these
players with the likes of Gonzo, Heap and Shockey
but they are certainly making names for themselves
and its time to give them the recognition they deserve.
You might not be satisfied with Deuce McAllister's
yardage numbers against the Minnesota defense, but
keep in mind that the Vikings do eat up much of
the clock themselves, and also force opponents to
play from behind. When you consider those factors,
McAllister's totals from Sunday night look even
better.
What is certainly apparent is that McAllister is
returning to his old form after some early-season
struggles and injury problems. A big reason for
his resurgence is the insertion of rookie fullback
Mike Karney into the lineup more often. As expertly
pointed out by our own Fantasy Edge readers earlier
in the year, all the Saints needed to do was use
Karney more and depend less on pass-catching tight
ends like Boo Williams to block in key situations.
McAllister is also running in many less single-back
sets. With Karney leading the way, a healthy McAllister
should play well for the rest of the year.
SeaSquawk
Seattle's passing game has not delivered the numbers
fantasy owners have expected so far this year, and
things could get a bit worse soon. As erratic as
Koren Robinson has been, the news that he could
be suspended for four games is another downer, especially
for owners of Matt Hasselbeck (photo), who has played
better than his numbers will indicate.
Hasselbeck was regarded by some fantasy owners and
experts as a top five quarterback this season, yet
because of surrounding circumstances, he hasn't
delivered the totals expected of him this year so
far. The Seahawks' passing game has yet to explode
as expected, and while much of it isn't Hasselbeck's
fault, Seattle's inconsistency in the air is reflected
in his overall numbers.
Hasselbeck hasn't played badly at all. He's been
smart and confident in the pocket, and has limited
his mistakes for the most parts. He's been making
good reads and timely throws. Yet bad luck and bad
play by his receivers have really hurt his fantasy
totals. Sunday's pair of interceptions were not
due to bad throws, necessarily. One was on a tipped
ball, and the other was on a diving interception
by Ty Law, who simply made a great play.
Seahawks WR Bobby Engram is listed as questionable
for Week 7 action because of a sprained left ankle
which occurred in Sunday's loss to the Patriots.
The word out of Seattle is that the team is preparing
to be without him for 1 - 2 weeks but head coach
Mike Holmgrem is remaining optimistic about his
availability for this upcoming weekend. If Engram
cannont go look for Alex Bannister and the newly
acquired Jerry Rice to see a lot of playing time
in his place.
Rethinking the "Draft QB's late"
plan
At least for Daunte Culpepper, anyway. He now
has the NFL record with three games in a season
of five passing scores. It is very safe to say that
is also a record for the first five games of the
year. Culpepper now has 18 passing scores and one
rushing touchdown. He has thrown for 1766 yards
for an average game of 353 yards per game which
trends out to a season total of 5648 yards with
57 touchdowns. That's not likely since it would
be nine more scores than has ever been done and
almost 600 yards more than has ever been passed
in a single season.
For a bit of perspective, there were only 11 quarterbacks
last season who threw for more than 18 touchdowns
and that considers the entire 16 game season. Not
just five games.
Maybe it wasn't enough, but it was everything
For the first week this season, starting quarterbacks
never shared the box scores with their backups.
In spite of three blowouts, there was no mop-up
duty handed out and all rushes and passes by the
quarterback position were done by the starter. It
also says that there were no quarterback injuries
on Sunday and no lead is safe enough to give a secondary
player a chance to mess it up.
Droughning all the summer hopes
This summer we all spent time deciding which of
the Denver backs were most likely to shine this
year. Was it the starter Quentin Griffin who had
a big first game? Would it be Garrison "the
vet" Hearst? How could we ignore the rookie
running back of Tatum Bell who was drafted higher
than any of the legendary Denver backs? Just to
make it even more complicated, there was that specter
of Mike Anderson hanging out there as well. So many
runners but you knew getting the right one could
be a gold mine.
Ends up it was the second string fullback! (slap
forehead, act like you has ever considered him).
In only two games, Reuben Droughns has rushed for
369 yards on 68 carries. And he turned in the most
productive games by a running back this season against
both the Panthers and Raiders - teams that were
designed this year to stop the run. And we never
thought to look at the #5 running back this August.
Who says there's no mystery in football? In the
future, if you ever see Bruce Willis line up for
the Broncos, here's a hint. He's just a ghost and
will still gain 150+ yards rushing.
Adds & Drops
WR Donald Driver, GB - Immediate Add - And to think
this guy could still be a free agent in your league.
Tony Finn reported several weeks ago here on ProFantasySports.com
that Donald Driver was indeed Green Bay's number
one receiver. While he isn't as talented as Javon
Walker, Brett Favre has targetted Driver a lot more
over the first 6 weeks of the season. He'll continue
to be productive and function well as a solid number
2 or great number 3 fantasy receiver.
WR Nate Burleson, MIN- Immediate Add - With Moss
a major question mark for Week 7 action, Burleson
is definitely a guy worth picking up. He had a great
game against the Saints and Culpepper has proven
that no matter who is on the field he is going to
be successful. If Moss is out for an extended period
of time this could end up being a great addition.
WR Brandon Lloyd, SF - Immediate Add - Lloyd has
been great since his injury and is rapidly becoming
Tim Rattay's main target. He clearly has the talent
to become a solid number 3 fantasy receiver so if
he can stay healthy and remain involved in the offense
don't be surprised if ends the year with decent
numbers.
TE Jermaine Wiggins, MIN - Immediate Add - With
the league very very thin at TE this year, Wiggins
is a hot commodity. The Vikings offense is clearly
the best in the league and Culpepper has been outstanding
at spreading the ball around. Wiggins is too big
to be covered by safeties and too fast for linebackers.
Couple those with soft hands and we have a top ten
fantasy TE.
WR Jerry Rice, OAK/SEA - Wait & See - According
to ESPN, the Raiders and Seahawks reached a deal
today that will send Jerry Rice to the Seahawks.
Also reported on ESPN today was the shocking news
that Koren Robinson will likely be suspended four
games for drug violations. This means that Rice
will only have to beat out Bobby Engram for a starting
spot and Engram could be sidelined anyway because
of a leg injury. The greatest WR of all time starting
on one of the league's best offenses sounds like
a chance for plenty of points to me.
RB Sammy Morris, MIA - Add - It's becoming a game
of running back roulette in Miami. Every week another
player seems to step up and lead the team in rushing
yardage. This past week it was Sammy Morris and
he ran extremely well against a tough Bills defense.
If Morris is healthy he will continue to get a bulk
of the carries which might not always lead to big
games, but it could be exactly what you are looking
for when you need a bye week replacement.
RB Jonathan Wells, HOU - Add - Hopefully the Domanick
Davis owner in your league doesn't already have
Wells. He has had two solid games coming in for
the injured Davis and he could begin to see even
more playing time if Davis can't stay on the field.
RB Richie Anderson, DAL - Add - Parcells simply
loves the hardworking Anderson and is rewarding
him with about 10 touches a game and a handful of
goal-line carries. He'll add some nice depth to
your RB core.
WR Andre Davis, CLE - Add - One TD per seven catches.
That is impressive. He makes a great pickup if available
but watch his status because he's currently dealing
with a sprained toe.
WR Keenan MCCardell, SD - Wait and See - If Caldwell's
injury is serious, and Keenan CryBaby gets off the
plane OK, this makes a nice pickup if you are thin
at WR. He has his reputation and Brees is playing
well. I wouldn't be surprised to see Keenan get
about 70-80 yards a game and 5 or 6 TDs.
WR Muhsin Muhammad, CAR - Add - Yes, in some leagues
he is available. He did nothing against Denver two
weeks ago but has a knack for finding the end zone.
DT Carolina Panthers - Drop - Carolina isn't even
a shadow of their speedy ball-hawking defense of
last year. With a fairly tough schedule, this pre-season
top three defense isn't even worth being kept on
your roster.
QB Kerry Collins, OAK - Drop - Came in with hype.
Has turned into a real dud. There are plenty of
better QBs out there.
WR Marty Booker, MIA - Drop - Yep, if you have him
it's officially time to cut him loose. His big game
a few weeks ago was a major fluke.
RB Leonard Henry, MIA - Drop - Morris got the carries
this past weekend and did fairly well with them.
Henry is likely not to see the field very much,
at least for the next few weeks or so.
Lesson Learned: Balanced offenses
generally dictate better stats for the running game
(see Mewelde Moore, Reuben Droughns, and William
Green as examples)
For those of you that made the right decisions
this week, congratulations. For those of you that
didn't: Sorry to tell you, but Hindsight's a …
