Fantasy Studs and Duds for Week 5
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by AlphaDevilX
Normally, I'm going to try to get this column out every Monday.
Stud QB's 1) Philip Rivers - Rivers had three touchdowns on Sunday. Two by air and a rare one on the ground. Rivers also managed to throw for 270 yards despite only completing 13 passes to only three different recievers. The Broncos defense looked REALLY bad, but you have to give credit to Rivers considering this was the first game this year that he didn't turn the ball over. Philip plays Oakland next week, they've let up the 5th most points to opposing fantasty QB's.
2) Tom Brady - Tom threw for 265 yards and 3 touchdowns on the Browns. Not a big surprise. Tom Brady has the most points amoung fantasy quarterbacks so far in ESPN scoring. Not a big surprise either. One thing to note though, if the Pats get way ahead in the division race and clinch homefield advantage through out the playoffs, Brady might get some rest on the bench in weeks 16 and 17.
3) Jason Campbell - Jason tore up a horrid Lions defense on Sunday, so no big deal right? Well, Campbell did it without his top recieving option, Santana Moss; and a 80% completion percentage is great, regardless of who you're playing against. Also, the fact that Randel-El is solidifying himself as a reliable #2 WR really helps Campbell. He should be started next week against a not so great GB pass defense.
Dud QB's 1) Trent Green - Last week may have been the last time we'll see Trent Green on the football field. He suffered a grade 3 concussion on Sunday, the worst possible concussion you can get. Cleo Lemon will hold the QB job for the Phin's till QB of the future, John Beck, is ready.
2) Matt Hasselbeck - The Seattle offense looked horrible last week. Especially the recievers. With Deion Branch out for the next two weeks, it's hard to reccomend Hasselbeck. Fortunately, they do play against a soft N.O. pass defense next week. Nate Burleson will replace Branch and should be picked up this week if you're in a deep league.
3)Tony Romo - Tony said in a post-game interview that he thought he threw 7 interceptions in the first half. He was close, he threw 4! The streaky QB will have a tough matchup against the Patriots this week, which means you should look elsewhere for your starting QB.
Stud RB's 1) Kenton Keith - The Indy offense is a machine. If you have Addai you NEED Keith. It really doesn't matter who plays running back, heck, I could play running back for the Colts and I'd be starting on fantasy rosters.
2) Ronnie Brown - It's kind of funny how we were worried that Jesse Chatman might split carries with Ronnie Brown. He's amassed over 100 fantasy points the last 3 weeks and he's averaging over 5 yards per carry. The Browns have been averaging more that 150 rush yards allowed this year, so Brown is a must start.
3) Najeh Davenport - Najeh vultured two touchdowns from Willie Parker last week. If I own Willie Parker, I'm scared. Not too scared though, because Parker is still leading the league in yards. Parker will get his points with touchdowns or not. Najeh, though he was never a goal-line back, could vulture enough touchdowns to get himself in your starting lineup this year.
RB Dud's 1) Larry Johnson - I'll be honest, Larry Johnson doesn't have alot of things going for him. He has a bad offensive line and his passing game isn't helping him stay on the field. Also, the fact that Johnson only had 2 carries in the second half didn't help either. The good news is that Johnson plays Cincinnatti next week. If you don't expect a lot out of Johnson, you might be surprised this week.
2) Shaun Alexander - The good news: Alexander led his team in receptions last week. The bad news: It was only 3 receptions for 7 yards. More good news: Like Johnson, Alexander faces a really bad front seven. More bad news: Alexander loses his all-pro fullback, Mack Strong, as he had a career ending injury last week.
3) Thomas Jones - It's really hard to tell if the Bears made the right move by trading Jones, instead of Benson, to the Jets. But let's be frank, they've both sucked so far this year. Jones complained about the lack of carries yesterday saying that he's not getting a feel for the defenses because he's only getting 12-15 carries a game. That could work out in his favor in the upcoming weeks, but if he fails to produce, Leon Washington might become a significant part of the Jets running game.
WR Stud's 1) Larry Fitzgerald - Fitzgerald should enjoy the perks of having Kurt Warner has his QB. Last week, Fitzy had 9 receptions and 136 yards with a touchdown. The bad news is that Aquan Boldin should be back next week.
2) Derrick Mason - I think you'd be surprised to find out that Derrick Mason actually leads the league in receptions. The problem is that he's only averaging 8.5 yards per catch. Example, he only had 85 yards on 11 receptions. If you're in a points per reception league, Mason might be a guy that you might want to trade for. If he can get in the endzone more, his ceiling could be alot higher.
3) Dennis Northcutt - I'd never thought I'd mention Northcutt in a fantasy football column, but he's emerged as David Garrard's top recieving option. He should be picked up in deep leagues, and might serve well as a bye-week fill in.
WR Dud's 1) Santonio Holmes - Who gets hurt in pre-game warmups?!? Holmes really blew a great chance to put up prime fantasy numbers as Hines Ward was out. Holmes does get a bye week to give it some extra rest and should be back for week 7.
2) Terrell Owens - The streakyness of Romo may end up hurting T.O.. The emergence of Patrick Crayton and Jason Witten may also end up hurting T.O.. And all the drops T.O. has had this year might end up hurting, you guessed it, T.O..
3) Lee Evans - It's kind of ironic cause I have all 3 of these recievers in one of my leagues, so maybe I'm just ranting about my problems. Either way, you can't deny that Lee Evans has been pretty much non-existent in the Buffalo Bills offense. Both Roscoe Parrish and Josh Reed have more receptions than Evans. I know everyone is saying buy-low on Evans, but if you can sell-high, why not?
Stud TE's 1) Ben Watson - FYI, Watson is tied for 1st in TD's by a TE this year with 5. Big Ben has been a prime target for Brady once in the endzone and right now should be ranked in with the 2nd tier of TE's.
2) Jason Witten - Like Watson, Witten has emerged into the 2nd TE tier. In fact, he's only 1 point behind Gates in ESPN scoring formats. Romo seems to really like Witten and so should you.
Dud TE 1) Alge Crumpler - If I'm a Crumpler owner, I'm scared right now. The Falcons offense has been really bad so far this year. 2 catches for 4 yards is just not going to cut it. The days of Vick-Crumpler are gone and as a result Crumpler might never be the same fantasy player again.
Stud K's 1) Kris Brown - Brown single-handedly won the game for the Texans on Sunday. After going 5/5 with 3 FG's over 50 yards, it's pretty evident that Kris Brown is one of the best kickers in the game. Playing for the Texans may knock him out of the top tier for fantasy, but he should be owned in all leagues.
2) Nick Folk - First off Folk hit his career long field goal of 47 yards in the second quarter. Then to win the game Folk hit a new career long field goal of 53 yards, but it didn't count! Dick Jauron's last second time out resulted in Folk having to re-do the kick. Folk came back and kicked the crap out of that ball and won the game for the Cowboys. In your face, Jauron.
Dud K 1) Olindo Mare - One of the former elite K's several years ago is now in the hot seat as the New Orleans kicker. Mare has only hit 3/7 of his field goals and will be cut if he doesn't start kicking the ball through the uprights.
