Grasping at fantasy straws

Boller, Garrard, Muhammad could provide a late-season boost

BOB HARRIS Back Page Kyle Boller finally looked like a decent fantasy quarterback last week against the Jets. AP

The closer we get to the stretch run towards fantasy playoff time, the tougher it is to buck conventional wisdom. You know how it goes.

Matt Hasselbeck might be playing lousy right now, and by all rights should be firmly planted on your fantasy pine. But visions of massive karmic retaliation -- perhaps in the form of that four-TD, 400-yard effort he's been saving for the first weekend on your bench -- make it difficult to look the other way.

Get past it. It's simple. It's too late in the year to play the "waiting game" in hopes struggling laggards will suddenly live up to preseason expectations. It's time to get creative. To crawl out on the proverbial limb.

With that thought in mind, I offer three situations in which less-heralded prospects just might be ready to help your team get through a tough stretch.

Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Boller and Clarence Moore

Has the worm finally turned in Baltimore? On Monday, one of Boller's harshest critics, Mike Preston of the Baltimore Sun, wrote: "Now, it's time to talk about Boller possibly being a legitimate NFL quarterback. He still has a long way to go, but Boller finally reached a major milestone [Sunday]."

Preston said Boller's numbers, 19-of-33 for 213 yards, weren't spectacular, but they don't need to be in Baltimore's offense. The key is efficiency and accuracy on the short passes, the staple of the offense.

In the past three games, Boller has accounted for 70 percent of the team's total offense -- averaging 192.7 yards passing -- and has produced three of the offense's past four touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Moore, a sixth-round draft pick from Northern Arizona, caught two touchdown passes from Boller last Sunday. The 6-foot-6 Moore caught a team-high five passes for 45 yards. This after a three-catch, 82-yard effort against the Eagles.

According to Pro Football Weekly, head coach Brian Billick really likes the dimension Moore's height brings to the passing game. Moore's catches against Philadelphia went for 16, 14 and 52 yards. In an offense where big plays are few, Moore really helped his cause with such a strong showing.

Look for Moore to continue getting significant playing time in the team's two-receiver sets opposite Travis Taylor.

Moore's emergence is resulting in even fewer snaps for Kevin Johnson, who has been a disappointment. Randy Hymes is also seeing a Moore-related cut in playing time.

Boller said he's especially confident when he throws to Moore that no one except the gangly wideout will come down with the football.

Carolina Panthers: Jake Delhomme and Muhsin Muhammad

Delhomme is coming off his best two games of the season against Oakland and San Francisco, having thrown for 602 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. In the seven games before that, Delhomme had thrown just six touchdown passes with 11 interceptions against much tougher competition.

Of course, necessity is the mother of invention, and an injury-depleted backfield is a major reason for Delhomme's resurgence.

The bad news? Delhomme didn't take any snaps during Thursday's practice and was held out of team drills. But he was able to throw on the side for the first time since suffering a hairline fracture in his right thumb this past Sunday at San Francisco.

"I was encouraged, very encouraged -- we'll leave it at that," said Delhomme, who has started 28 straight games, including four in the postseason last season.

"I plan on trying to play if I can," Delhomme, officially listed as questionable, explained today. "But I don't know how it will react overnight and again tomorrow. I've got to see now if it swells up. But I will take every precaution to get it right."

Delhomme said his thumb is far from 100 percent.

"I'm not going to lie, there's pain there," Delhomme said. "But there's going to be pain there for the rest of the season. That's just the way it is. It's gotten better. I anticipate it getting better the rest of the season."

Head coach John Fox said Delhomme looked accurate with his passes. He remains optimistic Delhomme will start Sunday.

If that's indeed the case -- and I believe it will be, I'll remind you that Muhammad continued to ride his recent hot streak last Sunday, recording six catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns against the Niners.

Over the last three weeks, the Panthers' receiver has hauled in 22 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns.

I'm not saying Delhomme and Muhammad are going to make anybody forget about Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss. But Moss isn't playing right now and the Minnesota's offense is struggling mightily.

Jacksonville Jaguars: David Garrard and Greg Jones

The Jaguars didn't lose a beat with David Garrard under center instead of Byron Leftwich. Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Looking for a short-term solution to a pressing problem? So were the Jaguars. They went with David Garrard and -- at least this week -- you should do the same if at all possible.

In the starting lineup for the first time in nearly two years, Garrard threw two touchdown passes and had 42 yards rushing against the Lions last week. He also had a key downfield block on Jacksonville's first play that helped spring Fred Taylor for a 42-yard gain that set up a touchdown.

Garrard completed 19 of 36 passes for 198 yards and ended the game with a 36-yard TD strike to Jimmy Smith in overtime. He was sacked three times, but didn't have a turnover.

"I give him an A," head coach Jack Del Rio said. "It's a bottom-line business. David found a way to get a win. He did a nice job for us."

I believe that -- for at least another week -- Garrard can do just as nice a job for you.

Also in Jacksonville, rookie running back Greg Jones scored his first career touchdown on a 1-yard dive in the third quarter and according to the Florida Times-Union, Del Rio officially proclaimed the youngster as the Jags' short-yardage runner of record.

Del Rio was reluctant to make that pronouncement early in the season, insisting instead that Taylor would remain the top choice. But Jones' recent success -- he has converted five of his six attempts on third-and-1 -- convinced the coach to make the switch.

"We very much envision a Mike Alstott-type role for him," Del Rio said, referring to Tampa Bay's bruising halfback-fullback hybrid. "Greg's got a big upside, and I love the way he works."

At this point, I'd rather play a goal-line specialist for the Jags than the featured back du jour in Carolina.

Bob Harris is Editor and Webmaster of the TFL Report and Senior Editor for Fantasy Sports Publications.