|
Must Start:
Steven Jackson
v. CLE: Earlier this week, when asked about fantasy football,
Jackson said, “Start me this Sunday”. The generous Cleveland defense
is allowing 150 yards per game on the ground so Jackson’s pronouncement
wasn’t all that shocking. Any running back playing the Brownies
is pretty much a lock for 100 yards. Considering the beating Marc
Bulger took last week, Jackson will get a lot of work in an effort
to keep his quarterback in one piece.
Clinton Portis @ NE: How do you beat the Patriots? You don’t
of course, but most teams try to get the job done through ball
control. If Brady isn’t on the field he can’t throw
16 touchdowns against you before halftime. The Redskins are beginning
to run short of serviceable offensive linemen, but Portis will
get enough touches to do some decent fantasy damage.
Thomas Jones v. BUF: Jones has 131 rushes this year and ten catches
and still no touchdowns. Eventually he has to score and this week
looks to be as good of a chance as any he will get all season.
The Buffalo defense is underwhelming and Jones’ workload
will only increase with the coaching staff’s ongoing quarterback
concerns. It is a pretty sad commentary on your QB’s arm
strength when both safeties come down into the box knowing that
the opposing quarterback is physically unable to throw the ball
far enough to be a real threat.
Brandon Jacobs @ MIA: At least for the moment, Jacobs is healthy
and ready to beat up a sorry Miami defense. To make it really
cool, he gets to do it in London. Anyone think the NFL wishes
it could go back and pick a different match up to advertise the
NFL to the rest of the world? Maybe the upcoming Colts-Patriots
game? The Dolphin defense is allowing more points than any other
in the league, making this a slam dunk pick.
Going Out On a Limb:
DeShawn
Wynn @ DEN: I was going to recommend Chris Henry in Tennessee
and then ran across Wynn’s name. Green Bay doesn’t normally run
the ball much and usually has too many guys mucking around in
the backfield to make sorting it out worthwhile. But, did you
know that the Denver Broncos currently rank dead last in stopping
the run? When a defense is giving up more than 175 yards per game
on the ground, the opposing running back, regardless of talent,
is worthy of a start.
Grab A Gatorade:
Laurence
Maroney v. WAS: Maroney is a talented running back in a great
system. My concerns start with how many touches he will get. Last
week, coming back from injury he had a grand total of six. So
far this season he hasn’t gotten more than 20 in any game. Maroney
has also been completely nonexistent in the passing game and endzone,
with no catches and zero touchdowns. Washington has a good defense,
particularly against the run. Wouldn’t it be just like Bill Belichick
to take Maroney off the injury report and then pass the ball all
game?
Rudi Johnson
v. PIT: The Steeler defense isn’t looking nearly as scary as it
did earlier this season. However, it is still better than average.
At best, Johnson will get to share touches with Kenny Watson.
In the worst case, the Bengals give him another week to get healthy
and he lays a goose egg for your team. Until Rudi proves he is
healthy and effective, he is unstartable.
Earnest Graham v. JAX: Graham posted an impressive 191 combined
yards last week against the Lions. Let me say that last part again
– against the Lions. The Jaguars are also part of the animal
kingdom and even share their membership in the cat family with
the Lions. But their defenses couldn’t be farther apart.
Detroit is giving up more than 28 points a game and Jacksonville
under 15.
Ahman Green
@ SD: Since he has come back from injury, Green has averaged only
3.1 yards per carry. Quickly doing the math, that means he will
need more carries than his old and decrepit body can possibly
handle to be fantasy relevant this week. The San Diego defense
has been improving over the weeks and can legitimately be classified
as among the stingiest. With the possibility of a Sage Rosenfels
start also looming, owners can do better.
Jesse Chatman
v. NYG: Here is the free agent darling of the week. Ronnie Brown’s
misfortune is some other owner’s good luck. Before you get too
excited, let’s catalog the mounds of talent on the Dolphins offense.
Um, Chris Chambers? Nope, he got traded. Trent Green? Injured
and out for the season. Don’t they have a good tight end? Nah,
Randy McMichael is now playing in St. Louis. So, the Fins have
a mediocre running back and nothing else to keep defenses busy?
Yep.
Wide Receivers
|
