IPBprez
Cheesehead
Interesting take - something several were starting to bring up already...
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WEEK #4: DON'T GET HURT
September 28, 2005
Seems like Week 4 is the time injuries start piling up.
Guys are getting hit enough to have their dings affect their play. For instance, sacks accumulate on quarterbacks. Rushing the ball more than 100 times creates its own physical problems. Make sure your players are healthy enough to start for you, or that you have the adequate backups.
Josh McCown of the Cardinals may be better news for Boldin and Fitzgerald than Kurt Warner was. I didn't think Warner was even good enough to be a backup in most leagues. McCown isn't either, but Mr. Fantasy upgrades the status of the big 2 receivers.
Michael Vick of the Falcons is not running, which makes him useless as a fantasy starter. Wait until his hamstring is totally better before considering him. However, I do see Brian Finneran as a viable backup now in leagues. He's basically Vick's only option at wide receiver right now.
Amazing how Steve Smith of the Panthers has become a fantasy star once again. Smith may be better than he ever was, when you consider than he doesn't have Mushin Muhammad taking receptions away. If you're not playing Smith, it's not too late to get him in there. More big games ahead.
Stephen Davis of the Panthers is getting banged up as usual. Sore knee this time. I think it's only a matter of time before DeShawn Foster becomes the more valuable running back on that team. In fact, notice that last week, Davis' longest run was for 5 yards.
I can't explain Drew Bledsoe's success with the Cowboys. If you want Mr. Fantasy's opinion, I say in the next couple of weeks his lack of mobility will create an issue, and he'll wind up slowed from his current pace. Not a bad pace, either, with the Terry Glenn connection. If you have more guts than Mr. Fantasy, then go ahead and start Bledsoe. Also might as well pick up Glenn, who's probably a free agent in your league.
Don't totally jump off the Packers' Brett Favre bandwagon. Stash him until the second half of the season, when he usually heats up. Right now, Donald Driver is playing with a sprained ankle, so you're not going to get as much out of Favre as you thought going into the season, with his top 2 receivers (Javon Walker also) hurt.
Look for Andre Johnson of the Texans to wake back up. He's had a bye week's worth of planning with newly hired offensive coordinator Joe Pendry. And you know part of the game plan will be to get Johnson back involved.
If you need Mr. Fantasy to talk you off the ledge of not playing Peyton Manning of the Colts, then I'm here to help. You simply can't market-time the game where Manning starts making up for lost time. Remember, the season after Marino threw for 48 TD's, he threw for 30, so there's going to be a dropoff. But not enough of a dropoff for you to consider starting some 24 TD guy like Matt Hasselbeck instead!! Get over the fact that Manning won't throw for 48 again this season.
I'm going to go contrarian and say Fred Taylor of the Jags isn't going to have a good game this week, or next. One of my favorite things to look at is RB's who have 35+ carries in a game. Taylor had 37 carries against the Jets last week. That's bad enough. Plus, he only had 98 yards rushing. So, he got hit a lot. If you can, don't expect too much out of Taylor as he recovers from that workload. He's like a pitcher who just threw 135 pitches in a game.
Ronnie Brown of the Dolphins will be feeling the pressure of Ricky Williams' imminent return. Look for Brown to continue to step it up this week, one week removed from his first 100-yard rushing game.
The Vikings are a good source of future fantasy points, as they try to recover from their bad start. Mr. Fantasy likes Mewelde Moore as the featured back. And Travis Taylor as a viable touchdown threat. Two TD's for Taylor last week is just the start for his relationship with Dante.
Weekly Watch:
Players who may have had good weeks last week, but won't continue that trend:
Eli Manning, Giants. Yeah, he had 352 yards passing. That's only double his previous high. Giants prefer to run.
David Akers, Eagles. Made a couple of important kicks, but now he's out. Pick up Todd France as protection against Akers being done for the season.
Keenan McCardell, Chargers. Won't get that many opportunities again. Gates will get more red zone looks, as oldster McCardell slows down.
Brandon Lloyd, 49ers. He has one decent game every year, then falls back to mediocrity and the disappointment of expectations not met.
That's all for now ---
Mr. Fantasy
(Have a question or comment for Mr. Fantasy? Email him at: [email protected]
Don't forget to sign up to play Inside The NFL's Beat The Hosts, the interactive picks game where can prove you are an NFL expert.)
===========================================
WEEK #4: DON'T GET HURT
September 28, 2005
Seems like Week 4 is the time injuries start piling up.
Guys are getting hit enough to have their dings affect their play. For instance, sacks accumulate on quarterbacks. Rushing the ball more than 100 times creates its own physical problems. Make sure your players are healthy enough to start for you, or that you have the adequate backups.
Josh McCown of the Cardinals may be better news for Boldin and Fitzgerald than Kurt Warner was. I didn't think Warner was even good enough to be a backup in most leagues. McCown isn't either, but Mr. Fantasy upgrades the status of the big 2 receivers.
Michael Vick of the Falcons is not running, which makes him useless as a fantasy starter. Wait until his hamstring is totally better before considering him. However, I do see Brian Finneran as a viable backup now in leagues. He's basically Vick's only option at wide receiver right now.
Amazing how Steve Smith of the Panthers has become a fantasy star once again. Smith may be better than he ever was, when you consider than he doesn't have Mushin Muhammad taking receptions away. If you're not playing Smith, it's not too late to get him in there. More big games ahead.
Stephen Davis of the Panthers is getting banged up as usual. Sore knee this time. I think it's only a matter of time before DeShawn Foster becomes the more valuable running back on that team. In fact, notice that last week, Davis' longest run was for 5 yards.
I can't explain Drew Bledsoe's success with the Cowboys. If you want Mr. Fantasy's opinion, I say in the next couple of weeks his lack of mobility will create an issue, and he'll wind up slowed from his current pace. Not a bad pace, either, with the Terry Glenn connection. If you have more guts than Mr. Fantasy, then go ahead and start Bledsoe. Also might as well pick up Glenn, who's probably a free agent in your league.
Don't totally jump off the Packers' Brett Favre bandwagon. Stash him until the second half of the season, when he usually heats up. Right now, Donald Driver is playing with a sprained ankle, so you're not going to get as much out of Favre as you thought going into the season, with his top 2 receivers (Javon Walker also) hurt.
Look for Andre Johnson of the Texans to wake back up. He's had a bye week's worth of planning with newly hired offensive coordinator Joe Pendry. And you know part of the game plan will be to get Johnson back involved.
If you need Mr. Fantasy to talk you off the ledge of not playing Peyton Manning of the Colts, then I'm here to help. You simply can't market-time the game where Manning starts making up for lost time. Remember, the season after Marino threw for 48 TD's, he threw for 30, so there's going to be a dropoff. But not enough of a dropoff for you to consider starting some 24 TD guy like Matt Hasselbeck instead!! Get over the fact that Manning won't throw for 48 again this season.
I'm going to go contrarian and say Fred Taylor of the Jags isn't going to have a good game this week, or next. One of my favorite things to look at is RB's who have 35+ carries in a game. Taylor had 37 carries against the Jets last week. That's bad enough. Plus, he only had 98 yards rushing. So, he got hit a lot. If you can, don't expect too much out of Taylor as he recovers from that workload. He's like a pitcher who just threw 135 pitches in a game.
Ronnie Brown of the Dolphins will be feeling the pressure of Ricky Williams' imminent return. Look for Brown to continue to step it up this week, one week removed from his first 100-yard rushing game.
The Vikings are a good source of future fantasy points, as they try to recover from their bad start. Mr. Fantasy likes Mewelde Moore as the featured back. And Travis Taylor as a viable touchdown threat. Two TD's for Taylor last week is just the start for his relationship with Dante.
Weekly Watch:
Players who may have had good weeks last week, but won't continue that trend:
Eli Manning, Giants. Yeah, he had 352 yards passing. That's only double his previous high. Giants prefer to run.
David Akers, Eagles. Made a couple of important kicks, but now he's out. Pick up Todd France as protection against Akers being done for the season.
Keenan McCardell, Chargers. Won't get that many opportunities again. Gates will get more red zone looks, as oldster McCardell slows down.
Brandon Lloyd, 49ers. He has one decent game every year, then falls back to mediocrity and the disappointment of expectations not met.
That's all for now ---
Mr. Fantasy
(Have a question or comment for Mr. Fantasy? Email him at: [email protected]
Don't forget to sign up to play Inside The NFL's Beat The Hosts, the interactive picks game where can prove you are an NFL expert.)
