September 30, 2007
Expect this quote from Ray Lewis to get a lot of play this week.
"It's a team sport," Lewis said, on the way out of the stadium. "Trying to be political. Trying to always say the right thing. Sooner or later, you get tired of making excuses. This is the NFL. You're going to give up points. It happens. But you have to ask: Is it the defensive side?"
Baltimore's offense actually racked up 418 total yards Sunday against Cleveland, they just couldn't capitalize in the red zone. But this outburst is a sign of a team that is used to playing the bully, and has been pushed around too often this year - on both sides of the ball.
If Reggie Brown can't beat press coverage by Sam Madison, well, he's just not a good NFL wide receiver right now. Brown had a similarly slow stretch in the middle of last season, and doesn't look consistent enough at this stage of his career to live up to his pre-season billing. (And yes, I'm trying to throw a reverse jinx on Brown because I stupidly played him over Patrick Crayton in one league).
The Giants have figured out how to fix their leaky secondary: Rush the passer like crazy. Donovan McNabb had his worst half of the season (which is saying something), with only 44 yards on 13 attempts against a shaky defensive backfield. The offensive line is a big problem, but McNabb needs a big half here going into a bye week for his owners to be confident that the Detroit game wasn't a fluke.
September 28, 2007
It looks like Anquan Boldin will probably miss Sunday's game, making Bryant Johnson a decent wideout pickup if you are in trouble. Johnson, though, has looked slow to pick up Ken Whisenhunt's offense and has struggled this year. He's always been serviceable as a fill-in starter the last few years, but that was under Dennis Green. I'm ranking Johnson 47th at wideout.
If I was going for a deep sleeper at wideout from that game, I'd much rather go for Nate Washington against a Cardinals secondary that can be exploited. He's entering the rankings at 41.
Brian Westbrook didn't practice at all this week. For most players, that would mean he's almost certainly out for Sunday night. But Westbrook isn't like most players. The Eagles are happy to play it as cautiously as possible with Westbrook, and the Philadelphia Inquirer would be surprised if Westbrook sat out, especially right before a bye week.
As a Westbrook owner, I'm not sure I could wait until SNF to find out his status unless I owned Correll Buckhalter or someone else in the night games. Thankfully, I have Kenny Watson in the same league as Westbrook, so I will wait it out and expect to use Westbrook. Ideally, we will get more news by Sunday morning.
I looked through our database and did find a week last year (Week 5) when Westbrook sat out practice all week, then started the game. So there is some precedent. He put up 86 total yards and a score that week against the Cowboys. Westbrook is worth waiting for if at all possible because 75% of him is better than 100% of most options.
I agree with most of what Bill Barnwell writes in his matchups column this week, including his impressive faith in Lee Evans.
One line made me pause, however:
The wideout best-positioned to benefit from that is actually Kevin Curtis, the best short-yardage receiver the Eagles have. Expect Curtis to operate over the middle and put up, oh, half the yardage he did last week while still being effective. Remember how I said Evans was one of the great buy low, sell high opportunities in history? Curtis will join him after this week.
Continue reading "Kevin Curtis: Fluke?" »
As a not particularly proud owner of Kenny Watson in multiple leagues, I face a difficult question: Do I play him?
It depends on the team of course. One of my better teams, he's still my fifth-best option. On another, he's my RB2 because of injuries and bye weeks.
Kenny Watson is a borderline RB2/flex play this week against the Pats. I have him ranked No. 24, just behind guys like Edgerrin James, Brian Leonard, and Ron Dayne. He's just ahead of Warrick Dunn, Jamal Lewis, Kevin Jones, and DeAngelo Williams.
The Patriots are a tough matchup on the ground and I don't expect Watson to top 50 yards rushing. But the New England linebackers aren't great in coverage, and the Bengals should be able to move the ball. If the Patriots can score 40 against the Bengals, the Cincy offense will be winging it to keep up. And Cincy's receivers present matchup problems for the smurf-like Pats corners.
I expect this to be the closest Patriots game of the year, and believe the Bengals can put up 30 points. That gives Watson a reasonable chance to score and put up some yardage catching the ball underneath.
September 27, 2007
Wideouts and tight ends have gone mostly as planned this season, so my top tens for both positions won't look much different. Sure, Randy Moss has looked great and Lee Evans has started slow. But Moss wasn't exactly buried in the rankings (15th) and Evans has 13 games to get back to his established norms. Let's go.
Top Ten Receivers
1. Chad Johnson, Bengals - Tops to start the year, nothing has changed.
2. Steve Smith, Panthers - Johnson gets the edge because he has a better offense and better teammates.
3. Terrell Owens, Cowboys - Has head on straight in loaded offense.
4. Reggie Wayne, Colts - Bust proof.
5. Marvin Harrison, Colts - See Wayne.
6. Randy Moss, Pats - Could be number one, but still a bigger injury risk than the others listed here.
7. Roy Williams, Lions - Seventh or eighth all summer. Calvin isn't slowing him down.
8. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Bengals - Poor Bengals defense will help him.
9. Torry Holt, Rams - Explosion slightly missing, but numbers will be there by season's end.
10. Donald Driver, Packers - Pass-happy Packers and favorable schedule will keep him consistent.
Continue reading "Top Ten WRs Moving Forward" »
Nice to see you again, Brandon. Mr. Jacobs was originally projected to miss 3-5 weeks, but he made a surprise appearance at practice Thursday in hopes of playing Sunday night.
The Ledger is all over the story, and it sounds like Jacobs wasn't just jogging without his shells.
We don't know if Jacobs will play or not, but it sounds like he'll be usable again in fantasy leagues by next week. The timing of the Giants game will make the situation uncomfortable for owners unless we know Jacobs' status by Sunday morning. Derrick Ward owners should also play close attention. Ward may still get half the carries, at least in Jacobs' first game back, but his value would greatly decrease.
Busy morning today, while I get Goal Line Stand ready and tape a Fantasy Fix. I'll get back to some top-ten moving forward rankings and respond to some questions about the running backs in the afternoon, but first a word from Channing Crowder.
"He's still limping around,'' said Crowder, when asked about former teammate Culpepper. ``He's not 100 percent. He's still not the Daunte Culpepper of back with Minnesota.''
We need more genuine trash talking like this instead of the Chad Johnson jokefests (which I almost like). It's a true grudge match. It almost makes me want to watch Dolphins game to see how Culpepper fares in his first start as a Raider.
Joey Porter, not to be outdone, repeatedly said, "We will win Sunday.''
Do not mess with the 0-3 Dolphins.
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