By Dalton Del Don
Not sure if I’ve ever seen an uglier display of quarterback play than Tyler Thigpen on Sunday. Imagine Dwayne Bowe with even an average QB throwing to him…The Falcons’ rushing attack is legit, as Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood complement each other perfectly. Turner is a beast between the tackles, and he’s not opposed to carrying multiple defenders into the end zone. Norwood, meanwhile, is a solid receiver and literally every single one of his carries come outside the tackles…If I’m facing Atlanta, I’m doubling John Abraham…I’ve been known to be stubborn, but I’m now trying to aggressively sell Larry Johnson more than ever. He put up nice numbers Sunday, but most of those yards came on one play. Because of his horrible blocking skills, he’s a complete afterthought in the passing game.
The saga in Oakland has become positively soap opera worthy. And to think, Javon Walker actually offered to give all that money back, and the Raiders declined…Since Nnamdi Asomugha is by far the best cover corner in the NFL, why is he relegated to one side of the field? They can’t scheme around making sure he’s guarding the opponents’ best receiver?…There hasn’t been a better fourth quarter team than Buffalo this season.
With the hardest part of their schedule behind them, Chris Perry could be quite valuable from here on out. Of course, he’s also pretty likely to get hurt, so rostering Kenny Watson is also a must…I like Brandon Jacobs as much as the next guy, but it’s entirely possible he’s the third best running back on his own team. Derrick Ward is making it impossible not to keep him heavily involved. Jacobs isn’t looking like much of an RB2 right now…It’s pretty obvious what the problem with Chad Johnson is – he’s hurt. I wouldn’t buy-low here, especially with Chris Henry returning soon.
Ronnie Brown – wow. When I called him a buy-low last week, this is exactly what I expected. OK maybe not five touchdowns. Four, but not five. That formation may not be sustainable, but if Bill Belichick can’t make any adjustments throughout four quarters, maybe it’s going to be effective for a while…Something tells me Matt Cassel isn’t going to be New England’s quarterback over the course of this season. He made David Carr look like a downfield threat with that performance Sunday.
Welcome to fantasy relevance, Steve Slaton. Especially considering opponent, that was impressive. I still believe in Houston’s offense (told you I was stubborn), so there’s nice upside here…If anyone’s worried about Andre Johnson, go happily take him off their hands…LenDale White might finish the season with 20 touchdowns and a 3.0 YPC mark…I took Matt Schaub and/or Jay Cutler in every single one of my (far too many) leagues this year, so please Schaub, get your head out of your ass.
Yes, Antonio Bryant is a must-add in every format…Brian Griese attempted 67 passes on the road in Chicago and wasn’t sacked once?! That’s pretty remarkable on numerous levels…I loved the up and coming Brandon Lloyd back in his days in San Francisco, but I’d be surprised if Sunday’s game was a sign of big things to come.
Edgerrin James’ longest run this year is 16 yards, making him the only back in the top 10 in rushing who doesn’t have a carry of at least 20 yards. Free Tim Hightower!…Santana Moss sure looks like a top-15 fantasy receiver to me…Down seven points with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter and at midfield Sunday, Ken Whisenhunt elected to punt on fourth-and-four, which was ridiculous to the point of offensive. Shockingly, they never got the ball back. What a joke.
After one week, Gus Frerotte was an upgrade, but it took a big defensive play to really turn that game around…Jonathan Stewart is going to score a lot of touchdowns this season…Bryant McKinnie can’t return soon enough…Steve Smith hasn’t been of much help over the first 23 percent of the fantasy regular season, but he’s going to make a major impact from here on out.
The Broncos’ major problems on defense is great news for Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall owners…Considering the receiving corps, Drew Brees and Sean Payton deserve an awful lot of credit…Let me reiterate, if Ryan Torain is somehow available in your league, change that…Reggie Bush still struggles as a runner, but he sure can be effective as a receiver, making him much more valuable fantasywise than I expected…I haven’t purchased a jersey in probably 10 years, but Cutler is really making me think about changing that.
Despite Sunday’s disappearing act, I still want Bryant Johnson on my fantasy team…If Frank Gore can stay healthy, 2,200 scrimmage yards isn’t out of the question…Was that a Rudi Johnson sighting? And he looked good too. Kevin Smith owners beware…Year in and year out, Roy Williams continues to disappoint…I see absolutely no reason why J.T. O’Sullivan shouldn’t be treated like a top-10 fantasy QB right now…The Lions are 1-10 over their last 11 games, and Matt Millen is 31-84 since he took over as team president in 2001.
The Rams have now been outscored by a total of 116-29 in three games this year and are on pace to give up 619 points this season. The NFL record for points allowed in a season is 533 by the 1981 Baltimore Colts…I don’t want to bag on St. Louis too much, since they did help keep me alive in my survivor pool this week…Not sure Trent Green is the answer, but Marc Bulger was simply playing himself out of a job…Julius Jones owners: sell.
The Eagles blitzed about 85 percent of the time against Pittsburgh and have really impressed so far. That team shouldn’t be overlooked…Willie Parker’s injury is pretty rough after his hot start to the year, but it will be interesting to see what Rashard Mendenhall can do. He hasn’t received a single carry over the last two games yet is now the starter in Pittsburgh…I’m not sure if Ben Roethlisberger is extremely tough or a wuss, but he sure does get nicked up a lot.
Counting the preseason, the Browns are now 0-7. What a soft team. I’m ready to see what Brady Quinn can do. Stash him in fantasy leagues…Luckily, I wasn’t even about to let last year’s aberration by Jamal Lewis fool me…So is it safe to say John Harbaugh has been a massive upgrade from that preening schmo Brian Billick?..I’m still not worried about Braylon Edwards.
The Colts have given up 598 yards on the ground so far this season, which is an even worse pace than their record setting 2006 team, which of course means they must be Super Bowl favorites…Peyton Manning has thrown multiple interceptions in consecutive games for the first time since October of 2002…The Jaguars had the ball 26:01 in the second half. The Colts had it 3:59. Now that’s dominating time of possession…Anyone frustrated by Joseph Addai’s start to the season, remember, he has home matchups against Cincinnati and Detroit Weeks 14 and 15.
Will someone please explain to me how Tony Romo was not drafted? No team found him worthy of the 224 picks?…Felix Jones, who looks closer to 40 than he does 20, is pretty explosive. He’s a perfect complement to Marion Barber and gives Dallas yet another edge as the best team in football…As crucial as Terrell Owens is to the Cowboys offense, I’m not so sure Jason Witten isn’t equally as important…For those counting at home, Barber is on pace to score 27 touchdowns this season…Greg Jennings is very, very good.
Part of the reason I picked San Diego as a wild card and not the division winner was that I expected the defense to regress and LaDainian Tomlinson to decline. What I didn’t count on, however, was Philip Rivers to be one of the five best players in the league. The guy has, quite simply, transformed into a superstar. He’s unequivocally a top-five fantasy QB…This San Diego team is very, very dangerous…The Jets are not…Chris Chambers is on pace to finish with 32 receptions and 21 touchdowns this season…Tomlinson’s toe injury didn’t appear to be much of a bother Monday, and he’ll be plenty valuable getting a bunch of scoring opportunities in that offense, but this is someone who’s a shell of his former self. The burst is gone. Over his last 36 carries against soft defenses, he’s averaged 2.6 YPC. Darren Sproles, meanwhile, is a touchdown waiting to happen. This isn’t Reggie Bush, as Sproles is much stronger and can run between the tackles. He’s a major weapon.
Kudos to the Emmy’s for rightfully awarding “Mad Men” as TV’s best current show…The new season of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” premiered last week, and let me just say, it’s highly recommended…I find myself oddly hooked on HBO’s “True Blood.”…And now, I’m off to go listen to the new “TV on the Radio.”
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