10/20/07
- Trade deadline deals aren't as common in the NFL as in other
professional leagues but the Bucs buck the trend in this regard.
For the fourth year in a row the team pulled off a deadline
deal, this time acquiring running back Michael
Bennett from the Chiefs. Over the three previous deadlines,
the Bucs traded Keenan McCardell to the Chargers (2004), picked
up Tim Rattay from the 49ers (2005) and traded Anthony McFarland
to the Colts (2006). The Bucs are Bennett's third team in a
little over a year and a half after he spent his first five
years in the league with Minnesota. Bennett doesn't have enough
time to learn the playbook to split carries with Earnest
Graham this week but with the team having rushed for only
47 yards over the past two weeks against the Colts and Texans,
expect a larger role for him within two weeks. However, reports
out of Tampa Bay have Michael Pittman recovering quickly from
his injured ankle and it's unlikely Bennett will have a major
role once Pittman returns.
- The other deadline deal this week was the Chargers acquisition
of wide receiver Chris
Chambers from the Dolphins. With Eric Parker's toe injury
not responding to treatment and rookie 1st round pick Buster
Davis unable to stay healthy, Chargers management sent a signal
to their players that they think the team can compete for the
Super Bowl this year. Look for Chambers to quickly pick up the
Chargers offense because the two teams employ similar systems
and Turner was the Dolphins offensive coordinator in 2002 and
2003. With Chambers under contract through 2009 and the Chargers
employing the best running back and tight end in the league
in their offense, the fantasy prospects for Davis and Vincent
Jackson have taken a major fall. With opposition defenses
often needing to put eight men in the box to stop LaDainian
Tomlinson and committing a double team to slow down Antonio
Gates, Chambers will see plenty of signal coverage and could
thrive in San Diego.
It looks like it might be time to cut bait with the Seahawks
Shaun
Alexander. Known for saving his best performances for prime
time games, Alexander failed to impress this week against the
soft Saints run defense, picking up just 35 yards. This came
on the heels of an 11 carry, 25 yards performance against Pittsburgh.
Although the numbers don't always tell the whole story, in Alexander's
case they just might. His longest run of the season is 22 yards
and he's averaging just 3.6 yards per carry, which is what he
averaged in 2006. On top of that, he's in the midst of a four-game
touchdown drought, his longest stretch of games without a score
since 2001. Alexander doesn't have the explosiveness of season's
past and he is clearly on the downhill side of his career.
- With their loss this week to the Ravens, the Rams are off
to an 0-6 start, which matches the worst start in the 70-year
history of the franchise. Look no further than the team's depleted
offence for the main problem. At the end of the Ravens game,
the team was missing eight players that had started in week
one. Missing were quarterback Marc
Bulger, running back Steven
Jackson, wide receiver Isaac
Bruce, left tackle Orlando Pace, left guard Mark Setterstrom,
center Brett Romberg and right guard Milford Brown (although
Brown was started in week one only because Richie Incognito
was out with a high ankle sprain). Remarkably, when Romberg
went down this week, he became the team's ninth offensive lineman
(including four starters) to miss time this season.
- Keeping with the Rams and injuries, Torry
Holt owners might want to start thinking about moving him
if a suitable offer presents itself. Holt suffered swelling
in his surgically repaired knee last week and didn't appear
to exhibit the same explosiveness he usually displays. With
Bruce and top backup wide receivers Drew
Bennett, Dante
Hall and Dane
Looker also out and tight end Randy
McMichael regularly employed as a blocker to help the team's
beleaguered offensive line, look for defenses to regularly double
team Holt unless the current number two and three wide receivers
(2006 5th round pick Marques
Hagans and former 49er Brandon Williams, signed just prior
to the Ravens game) show something, which isn't likely to happen.
- Patriots wide receiver Wes
Welker is having a fine season but it would be wise not
to overextend your optimism on his fantasy prospects. Welker
is enjoying a breakout season with 38 receptions for 386 yards
and three touchdowns. However, his two-touchdown performance
this week against the Cowboys matched his career output in that
category but it says here he's not likely to keep up the pace.
Look for defenses to adjust their coverages on Welker, recognizing
that he basically runs two patterns - a quick out and an out-in
across the middle of the field.
- The Saints highly paid defensive end tandem of Will
Smith and Charles
Grant was basically a bust over the team's first four games,
registering a single sack and failing to generate much pass
rush. In fact, the Saints entered their game against Seattle
with only one sack but managed to generate five against the
Seahawks. With Leonard Weaver starting at fullback for the injured
Mack Strong, the Saints blitzed heavily, exploiting Weaver's
pass blocking and harassing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Look
for opposition defenses to employ this strategy until Weaver
improves or the Seahawks change their blocking schemes. One
fallout from Strong's absence could be less receiving opportunities
for the team's tight ends if they're called upon to help out
in pass blocking.
- The Dolphins Ronnie
Brown is having an unexpected breakout season, with 526
yards rushing and four touchdowns over the first six games of
the season. Brown has eclipsed 100 yards in four consecutive
games. With another100 yard game, he will match Ricky Williams
teams record of five in a row. Hard to believe that with all
the great runners the Dolphins have had through the years that
Williams has the record for most consecutive 100-yard games.
- The Bears entered the season with what was supposed to be,
albeit arguably, the league's best defense. While they are clearly
no longer part of that debate six weeks into the season, their
precipitous fall in stature is almost incomprehensible. After
dominating the Lions for three quarters, they crumbled in the
fourth quarter, allowing an NFL record 34 points. This week,
they set a team record by allowing Vikings rookie running back
Adrian
Peterson to gain 224 yards on the ground against them. While
that's pathetic, what's also worth mentioning is that the Bears
failed to generate a turnover against turnover machine Tavaris
Jackson in that game.
- Chiefs general manager Carl Peterson actually made a smart
decision this week when he let the cat out of the bag with respect
to stud defensive end Jared
Allen. With Allen eligible for unrestricted free agency
after the season, Peterson commented that the team won't let
him go, making it apparent that the team will either sign him
long term or use the franchise tag on him. Simply put, Allen
generates as many big plays from the defensive end position
as any player in the league and is quite possibly the most underrated
player in the league. Despite his two-week layoff as a result
of being suspended, Allen showed up ready to play in week three
and has six sacks and two forced fumbles in four games since
returning to the lineup.
- If you've got a tight end going up against the Falcons or
the Patriots in the coming weeks, get him in the lineup. Simply
put, Lawyer
Milloy and Rodney
Harrison can no longer cover even moderately talented tight
ends. Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has enjoyed
a splendid season thus far in his first season in the role but
made a colossal blunder in not utilizing tight end Jason Witten
more against the Patriots. Other than trying to jam a player
at the line, Harrison is hopeless in coverage at this point
in his career and so is Milloy. Giants wide receiver Plaxico
Burress basically beat Milloy clean on a double move by taking
one step to the outside before cutting back into the middle,
making the veteran Milloy look like a rookie on the play.
- There's a lot of leadership in the Falcons dressing room.
Cornerback DeAngelo
Hall is reportedly the leader on defense and tight end Alge
Crumpler on offense. Hall's been fined $100,000 for arguing
with the team's coaches on the sidelines after taking three
penalties on a single series and Crumpler chewed out the coaching
staff because he wasn't utilized enough in the team's week five
loss to Tennessee. Well, he got more opportunities this week
against the Giants and promptly responded with two easy drops,
with the team's other receivers contributing another four. As
for Hall, he may have had an interception but he was basically
abused by the Giants for most of the game.
- If you're in an IDP league and have been impressed by Vikings
2nd year linebacker Chad
Greenway, you might see a decline in his numbers starting
this week. The coaching staff has decided to split the nickel
duties between strongside linebacker Ben Leber and Greenway.
The move isn't so much of a demotion for Greenway as it a promotion
for Leber with the coaching staff feeling that they are similar
players so keeping each fresh will optimize results in the nickel.
- The Chad
Pennington watch is on in New York. Pennington is having
what is possibly the worst year of his career and his arm looks
weaker than ever. What's also hurting the veteran signal caller
is a reluctance by the team to throw deep. With defenses not
fearing the deep ball and knowing they can jump on out patterns
due to Pennington's lack of velocity, they can concentrate on
the interior, short portion of the field making it nearly impossible
for the team to sustain drives. Although Kellen
Clemens is clearly the team's quarterback of the future,
it says here that head coach Eric Mangini will appease his veterans
and keep Pennington in the lineup until all hope is lost for
this season.
-
 With
Travis
Henry likely facing a year-long suspension, guard Ben Hamilton
on injured reserve with concussion problems and center Tom Nalen
now out for the season with a torn right bicep, it can't get
much worse for the Broncos running game. The team will move
guard Chris Myers into Nalen's spot at center and promote Chris
Kuper into the starting lineup at guard. With 2nd year quarterback
Jay Cutler
struggling and clearly missing wideout Javon
Walker (now out up to six more weeks with knee problems),
it says here the normally dominant Broncos running game will
struggle for the most of the balance of the season.
- Keeping with key offensive line injuries, the Chargers have
lost center Nick Hardwick for four weeks with a sprained foot.
However, the Chargers fortunes may not be as bad as the Broncos.
Replacing Hardwick will be eight-year veteran Cory Withrow meaning
the Hardwick's loss does not precipitate other movements along
the offensive line.
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