Its nice to finally feel some comfort in my picks. This was one
of my better weeks of correctly assessing the match ups. The trends
have taken form and players as well as teams can now be compared
to past performances. For example, Buffalo's offense is the Rams
pre-2002, Priest Holmes is the "new" Marshall Faulk, and Kansas
City has taken Minnesota's role as the best team to pass against.
As the weeks go on, players and team get more defined, making fantasy
owners job's a whole lot easier when making decisions and evaluating
match ups. Here is last week's summary:
Best
QB Chad Pennington vs. Kansas City
(23/30, 245 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT)
Very impressive outing for young Chad. Completion percentage was
great and he showed that he had a strong arm. Granted he played
a soft defense, but he played well.
QB Patrick Ramsey/Danny Wuerffel vs. Tennessee
(21/37, 279 yards, 2 TD, these were totals of the two)
Ramsey took over for the injured Wuerffel and looked like a veteran.
Rolle did play, but Washington played inspired after a bye week
with 8 different players registering a catch.
RB Priest Holmes vs. New York Jets
(23 rushes, 152 yards, 1 TD, 9 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD)
He is currently the best back in the league. It wasn't tough to
recognize that his match up was the best of the week.
RB Anthony Thomas vs. Buffalo
(15 rushes, 45 yards)
Has been less than impressive as of late, however, when involved
in shootouts and in comebacks, the running game is abandoned,
hampering Thomas' value.
WR Marvin Harrison vs. Cincinnati
(9 catches, 145 yards, 1 YD)
Indy's bye week work paid off, at least in the offensive sense.
They had control of the game all day until late in the game. Harrison
proved again to be Manning's favorite target.
WR Plaxico Burress vs. New Orleans
(4 catches, 59 yards, 1 TD)
Seems to be enjoying the quarterback change in Pittsburgh. Working
his way back to the value he was drafted for.
TE Jeremy Shockey vs. Dallas
(1 catch, 11 yards)
A turf toe injury in the first half was the reason for his limited
production. To further frustrate Shockey owners, Kerry Collins
hit back-up tight end Marcellus Rivers for 4th Quarter TD strike.
TE Anthony Becht vs. Kansas City
(1 catch, 2 yards, 1 TD)
He made his catch count. While you would like to see him more
involved, you have to be happy with the score.
Average
QB Brett Favre vs. Chicago
(22/33, 359 yards, 3 TD)
He continued his domination of Chicago and was flawless in dismantling
the Bear's secondary.
QB Drew Bledsoe vs. Oakland
(32/53, 417 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT)
The picks don't look nice on the stat sheet, but I think owners
will deal with them given the yardage and touchdowns. He is making
good defenses look bad.
RB Eddie George vs. Washington
(10 rushes, 26 yards, 3 catches, 14 yards)
It is time for his owners to officially panic. Another week of
no production may warrant a seat on your bench if you have a viable
back up.
RB Ricky Williams vs. New England
(36 rushes, 105 yards)
He was a workhorse in Miami's win, but didn't see the end zone
for the first time this season.
WR Lavernues Coles vs. Kansas City
(8 catches, 116 yards)
He seems to click nicely with Pennington. Look for his consistency
to continue, but check the match up before naming him a definite
fantasy starter.
WR Kevin Lockett vs. Tennessee
(4 catches, 58 yards, 1/1, 14 yards, 1 TD)
He showed he was worth the call to start. Besides serving as a
dependable downfield option, he turned a bobbled lateral into
a TD pass to Stephen Davis to cap Washington's scoring.
TE Chad Lewis vs. Jacksonville
(6 catches, 47 yards, 1 TD)
He has been relatively quiet thus far due to some nagging injuries,
but he looked to back as a threat in Philly's offense this week.
TE Randy McMichael vs. New England
(3 catches, 26 yards, 1 TD)
He was back in the offense and back in the end zone. Who ever
drafted him; give yourselves a pat on the back. I know I am..
Worst
QB Michael Vick vs. Tampa Bay
(4/12, 37 yards)
I didn't predict the injury, but I don't think it would have made
much difference. Tampa swarmed this week and Atlanta was never
a threat.
QB Brad Johnson vs. Atlanta
(17/31, 261 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)
Look at that, Keyshawn showed up to play this week. This is a
direct correlation to Johnson's good performance. Johnson is definitely
worth starting when the match up is right.
RB Fred Taylor vs. Philadelphia
(21 rushes, 48 yards, 2 catches 15 yards)
This was no fluke. The Eagles keyed on the Jags run all day long.
This was a complete turnaround for Taylor from a week ago, but
the match up wasn't there for him
RB Travis Henry vs. Oakland
(15 rushes, 58 yards, 1 TD, 7 catches, 47 yards)
He held on to the ball this week and scored again. It's a good
sign to see him play a larger part in the passing game, especially
with Bledsoe at the helm.
WR Peter Warrick vs. Indianapolis
(4 catches, 54 yards, 1 TD)
He finally scored but I assume that unless your league plays 4
wide outs or you have 16-team league, most of his owners didn't
get to benefit from his performance. I am one of them.
WR David Boston vs. Carolina
(3 catches, 43 yards)
Another disappointing performance, for who should be a top receiver,
week in and week out. Maybe his off-season bulk-up was more hurtful
than helpful.
TE John Davis vs. Green Bay
(3 catches, 33 yards, 2 TD)
In 5 games he has matched his TD output for his career and is
will do the same for yardage. He has become another weapon for
Miller to utilize.
TE Shannon Sharpe vs. San Diego
(4 catches, 39 yards)
Griese spread the ball around a lot and his wide outs were the
main target. He is still a top tight end, but it has always been
an unreliable position in fantasy football.
