By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
The Panthers offense produced zero touchdowns while playing at home against the Falcons Sunday. They are officially one of the best opponents to start your fantasy defense against…Mike Williams, Keary Colbert, Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith: It’s safe to say USC’s system is better than the wide receivers playing in it…Julius Peppers is having one of the most disappointing seasons in the NFL this year.
Effusive in my praise of Adrian Peterson last week, the bloggers curse has struck again. At least I prefaced it noting his previous injury history, but what a blow to fantasy owners. To be honest, I’ve never even heard of the “lateral collateral” ligament and was unaware one existed…Despite the explosive rookie’s presence, Chester Taylor has actually been pretty good this year and makes for a very serviceable play on a run-first team for the time being…Hard to believe the first 100-yard rusher allowed this season by Minnesota was to Ryan Grant.
My main man Kolby Smith was virtually non-existent Sunday, but Priest Holmes is about as boring as an episode of “Heroes.” Don’t be surprised if the 34-year-old gets hurt soon…Arrowhead is officially no longer a difficult place to play an NFL football game…Like Jerry Seinfeld promoting “Bee Movie,” Travis Henry just needs to go away – I’d much rather own Selvin Young at this point.
Instead of wasting everyone’s time talking about the Dolphins/Bills snoozefest, I’d like to take a moment of time to congratulate the MLB voters for actually getting it right this year. Dustin Pedroia over Delmon Young was an easy call, but that doesn’t make it any less surprising that the voters nailed it. Young “led” the American League in outs made, had a 127:26 K:BB ratio, and despite having a strong arm, is still a below average right fielder. Pedroia had him by .100 points of OPS, had a 42:47 K:BB ratio and played the more important defensive position very well…As for Ryan Braun over Troy Tulowitzki, both were very worthy choices. Still, Braun simply had to win this award, despite being the game’s worst defender. Tulo posted a .256/.327/.393 line when not hitting in Coors Field, while Braun led the league with a .634 slugging percentage, which was the highest by a rookie in major league history. The guy hit 34 home runs in 451 at-bats. Defense is important, no doubt, but you’d have to be crazy to think Tulowitzki contributed more wins to his team than Braun did to the Brewers.
So I guess that bye week did some good for this Rams offense. Steven Jackson can now be treated like a top-10, if not top-5 fantasy player, and it looks like Antonio Pittman is the backup to own, not Brian Leonard…Drew Bennett makes for a sneaky pickup in fantasy leagues right now. Isaac Bruce is dealing with a hamstring injury, and the entire St. Louis passing attack looks back on track. With a really good schedule coming up, Bennett – an excellent red zone target – should be a decent flex play…Sunday marked the Rams’ first touchdown scored on the road this season.
Despite giving up 28 points Sunday, make no mistake, this Steelers defense is legit…Willie Parker is on pace to total 1,748 yards this season. And score 3.5 touchdowns…Even in a game that sees him get just 3.5 YPA, Derek Anderson throws three scores…Like the film “American Gangster,” Ben Roethlisberger is very, very good.
I’m beginning to think even I could play quarterback for Jacksonville and have a decent chance at winning the right matchup…I could not have been more wrong regarding Vince Young this season. He’s really not even worth owning in deep leagues at this point…Maurice Jones-Drew is one of the five best running backs in the National Football League.
James Thrash’s TD catch was the first by a Washington wide receiver this season…I may be wrong, but it certainly looked like the Redskins let the Eagles score a rushing touchdown with 2:18 left Sunday, and bravo if that was the case. It definitely gave the team their best chance at winning…Memo to Andy Reid – even if it ties the score, you should not be trying a two-point conversion with 18 minutes left in the game. I’m no mathematician, but going for one point at a 99 percent success rate seems a little better than going for two points at a 45 percent success rate.
Chris Henry will almost certainly be out of the league within a year or two, but when on the field, he’s the most talented receiver in Cincinnati…Mark Clayton is a must-add in every fantasy league right now. A candidate to breakout in this his third year before the season began, he’s finally healthy and has an extremely favorable matchup against Cleveland this week…Although he may have this guy throwing to him.
Aveion Cason led the Lions in rushing Sunday with one carry for one yard…Tim Rattay is the new Mike Alstott – goal line vulture for TDs…I still have faith in Kevin Jones, but T.J. Duckett should probably be owned in all leagues right now…Good thing Dre Bly isn’t very good, because Tatum Bell is an absolute nothing at this point…One thing is clear, any game featuring the Lions will entail a whole lot of turnovers.
The Giants have the superior pass rush and maybe even running game, but the discrepancy between quarterbacks regarding Dallas and New York is significant…If I owned Jeremy Shockey, I’d be shopping him around following his big week – I see his future, and it involves hobbling to the sidelines with a leg injury…This Dallas defense doesn’t get enough credit.
If someone set the Raiders’ over/under for wins over the rest of the season at 0.5, I’d take the under…I’d rather Selvin Young than Cedric Benson for fantasy purposes from here on out…At this point, might as well see what JaMarcus Russell can do.
It doesn’t always work this way, but Reggie Wayne is a good example of why I always prefer receivers who are the only game in town. The guy was targeted 19 times Sunday, more than making up for the extra coverage slid his way with no Marvin Harrison around…Yes, his name is Craphonso Thorpe…It’s past time to start worrying about Philip Rivers’ long-term outlook…The Colts allowed two special team touchdowns, and Peyton Manning threw six interceptions, yet still should have won. There’s zero cause for concern in Indy.
Matt Hasselbeck looks like a surgeon at times and should be treated like a top-5 fantasy QB with Seattle’s pass-happy ways and improved health from his receivers. I value D.J. Hackett as a top-20 fantasy WR right now…Maurice Morris didn’t really impress Monday night, but he’s still an upgrade over Shaun Alexander…The numbers don’t jump out at you, but that was probably the best Frank Gore looked all season – that week off may have done his body some good…The Patriots traded the 28th overall pick last year for Randy Moss and a likely top-3 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. That ranks as a top-5 trade in the history of sports.
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