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Warden Report Garcia, McNabb still surpass expectations
By Ryan E. Houston, Special to CNNSI.com Okay so the Packers haven't really "played anybody." This week I was inundated with e-mail from fans who wanted to explain to me why the Packers actually stink and that they haven't truly been "tested." This week Favre and Co. will put that premise to rest as they face the fierce Bucs defense in Tampa Bay. I foresee another blowout, but we will have to wait until next week to see what really happens. This week Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Jerome Pathon and Marcus Pollard owners are very susceptible. What a better week to play the team that owns a "horse" from the Colts stable! Take advantage of the bye week and bring those Peyton Manning owners back to reality ... oh sorry ... too late ... The Patriots already did that last week! Did anyone notice how bad the Jets looked on Monday Night? Talk about a pitiful performance. Hard to believe that two of the worst teams in the NFL are in the AFC East! Two of my pre-season BUST picks are turning out to be the complete opposite. I had some concerns with Donovan McNabb and Jeff Garcia during training camp. I wondered how they would each cope with having a young WR corps and how they would handle the losses of key contributors on offense. Both have done exceptionally well thus far. Donovan McNabb looks like the real deal and is a definite starter each week. Garcia has struggled a bit, from a fantasy standpoint, but should put up top-10 fantasy numbers by year's end. What is wrong with Tampa Bay? Dungy? Brad Johnson? Keyshawn Johnson? This team has all the weapons to be a serious contender EVERY YEAR but continue to under achieve. All I know is if Tony Dungy doesn't get that pirate ship moving in the right direction, he will soon be looking for the man overboard vessel. Message to fantasy owners everywhere: Any member of your fantasy squad that is facing the Colts or Redskins defense have to be in your starting lineup! One last note, the secondary in New England isn't the problem!
Quarterbacks - Start 'em1. Kurt Warner: On Monday Night Football against a very bad Lions team. YUCK!2. Donovan McNabb: Each week he impresses me more and more. 3. Brian Griese: Look for a STRONG rebound from the Broncos this week. 4. Rich Gannon: How mad would Gruden be if they lost this one? 5. Aaron Brooks: He and Ricky will run all over the Vikings this week. 6. Jeff Garcia: Needs Stokes or Streets to turn it up a notch. 7. Trent Green: Is he that good or are the Redskins that bad? 8. Daunte Culpepper: Impressive against the Bucs last week. Is he finally out of the funk? 9. Brett Favre: Many still don't believe they are that good. They will find out this week. 10. Jay Fiedler: The Phins don't lose at home. 11. Kerry Collins: Has looked sluggish and out of tune since Week 1. 12. Elvis Grbac: Rushing yardage will be hard to come by in this matchup. 13. Doug Flutie: Sequence shows that it is Flutie's turn to score TDs this week. 14. Chris Chandler: Has been playing VERY solid thus far. Can he stay healthy? 15. Chris Weinke: Do you think the Cowboys wish they had picked him? Quarterbacks: Sit 'em1. Matt Hasselbeck: I'm not sure what to think, but he's staying put!2. Jake Plummer: And to think I actually ranked you this year! 3. Jon Kitna: Looked like the Kitna of old last week. Can he rebound in Steel Town? 4. Steve McNair: May be back on the DL after facing the Ravens this week. 5. Rob Johnson: You know you stink when you get benched against the JETS!
Running back crunch already developingThroughout the season Randy Moyer and I will share the running back analysis portion of this article. As I stated last week, I feel Randy is one of the Top RB writers in the FF community and want his work to get some extra recognition. Take it away Randy: Who would have guessed Week 3's 100-yard rushers would be Priest Holmes, LaDanian Tomlinson, Ron Dayne, Jerome Bettis and Troy Hambrick? Or that Antowain Smith would post a 162-yard, 2-TD day against the Colts? It was a wacky week with all the injuries and with the likes of Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Stephen Davis, Lamar Smith, Corey Dillon and Emmitt Smith having unusually sub-par games, the leader board was downright foreign. But that's the NFL. In FFL, proponents of the stud running back strategy will tell you to draft running backs early and often, and I agree. Running backs can make or break a fantasy football players' season. Injuries to running backs are the most frustrating, they just can't be predicted. Many people draft running backs with their first two or three picks. But that is not where the strategy ends. Savvy drafters will draft their main ball carriers' backups. They will draft other injury-prone players' backups. They will draft rookies. They will draft fullbacks. At the beginning of the season I published an article relating to drafting running backs. In it, I stated that there were only 12 solid, relatively safe running backs to draft. Only 12! Barely enough to go around. They were: Edgerrin James, Marshall Faulk, Eddie George, Stephen Davis, Curtis Martin, Ricky Watters, James Stewart, Lamar Smith, Emmitt Smith, Duce Staley, Jamal Anderson, and Jerome Bettis. As of this writing, Duce Staley has already missed more than a full game, Ricky Watters looks to be out about four weeks and of course, Jamal Anderson is lost for the season. In fact, only the following players have been the primary ball carrier from day one, have not been injured and currently have no threat to their jobs: Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James, Lamar Smith, Curtis Martin, Ricky Williams, Corey Dillon, Eddie George, LaDanian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith, Stephen Davis, James Allen, James Stewart, Ahman Green, Travis Henry and Michael Bennett. That's right, out of 31 teams, there are only 15 running backs that have been reliable thus far and we've only seen three weeks of action! We are entering Week 4 of the NFL and already many backs have fallen by the wayside. James Jackson had a 100-yard rushing week then hurt his ribs to be replaced by Jamel White. Fred Taylor split his body in half and will be watching Stacey Mack carry the ball for the Jaguars at least another week. Jerome Bettis watched Amos Zereoue rumble in his replacement. Terrell Davis went under the knife again leaving his carries to be split between Mike Anderson and Olandis Gary for several more weeks, if not the rest of the season. Ricky Watters played in 116 straight games and cracked his shoulder against the Raiders. Shaun Alexander has finally found the opportunity to start for the Seahawks and rushed for a TD. Duce Staley hurt his shoulder too, and Correll Buckhalter has made the most of that opportunity. Duce could be back as early as this week, but it seems to me the rookie as looked better on the field. Tiki Barber tweaked a hammy and Ron Dayne will see an increased workload. Tiki will probably get some game this week but how much is unclear. Warrick Dunn sprained his foot and will miss at least the next three games. Mike Alstott and Aaron Stecker will see more balls. Maurice Smith looks to take over the reigns of the Falcons in replace of Jamal Anderson. Tony Richardson's injury allows Priest Holmes more of an opportunity to get the ball. Garrison Hearst got knocked out of a game with a concussion and Kevan Barlow has looked impressive when in the game. Even if all the backs are healthy, there are several teams that are utilizing several backs either as a running back-by-committee approach or just in an effort to find the right guy. New England seemed set on J.R. Redmond as their man, but has been using Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk quite a bit. Even when James Jackson was healthy, Cleveland was using Jamel White in certain sets. Denver can't decide on Mike Anderson or Olandis Gary, probably won't either. Kansas City really likes using their fullback Tony Richardson in one-back sets. Of course, Oakland has two very able backs in Charlie Garner and Tyrone Wheatley. Arizona will most likely settle on Michael Pittman as their man, but for now, Thomas Jones will be seen dancing around the field. Garrison Hearst has been running well for San Francisco, but rookie Kevan Barlow has too. Carolina has used several ball carriers and appears to just be waiting on Richard Huntley to get healthy to take over the duties fulltime. And what's up with every back in Dallas getting better numbers than Emmitt Smith? The moral of this story is that every year there is a running back crunch in most fantasy football leagues. It is only Week 3 and the crunch is on. My suggestion is do what you can do NOW to solidify your backfield while you still can. Look around to teams with 3 or more primary ball carriers on their team and trade your No. 2 WR or No. 2 QB to them, you can always find replacements there anytime.
Don't believe the hypeEvery preseason, rookies are hyped at every position. Rarely does a rookie WR make a huge splash during his inaugral season in the NFL. It seems as if it takes upwards of three years for the to finally find their niche in their respective offenses. Let's take a look at how the rookie WR's are shaping up thus far.
All preseason I remember hearing names like David Terrell, Koren Robinson and Reggie Wayne. As you can see by the statistics, none of the rookie WR class has yet to live up to their pre-season hype. If you insist on having one of these guys in your lineup, Quincy Morgan continues to impress and has looked strong as of late. I also like Rod Gardner, but the Redskins offense is fidgety and unrefined (stating the obvious here). In a keeper or larger leagues you may have rationale to have one of these young stallions on your roster, but otherwise, they have little to no fantasy value at this point. Let's move on to the players that can actually help us win a game ...
Wide Receivers: Start 'em1. Rod Smith: He is the key to getting the Broncos back on track.2. Jimmy Smith: Licking his chops at this weekend's matchup. 3. Terrell Owens: If they continue to run like they did last week, Owens will be huge. 4. Randy Moss: You can't keep him quiet forever. Hence the rationale: He's DUE! 5. Isaac Bruce: They are going to score A LOT of points in Detroit. 6. Torry Holt: Ditto! 7. Tim Brown: Won't let Rice get all the TDs every week! 8. Joe Horn: The Horn will sound this week against the Vikes! 9. David Boston: Same ol' thing, the Cardinals will be playing catch up! 10. Amani Toomer: Has been relatively quiet since week 1. 11. Marcus Robinson: I like his matchup this week. Could have a huge game. 12. Muhsin Muhammad: He and Weinke are clicking. Has dropped 3 sure TDs this season. 13. Bill Schroeder: He may be the best WR the Packers have at this time. 14. Keyshawn Johnson: Going to be a tough matchup, but Keyshawn will step up. 15. Cris Carter: Something tells me Carter will be instrumental in the Vikings victory. Wide Receivers: Sit 'em1. Eric Moulds: I have heard he is showing up on the waiver wire in some leagues!2. Eddie Kennison: Watch out for Kevin Kasper! 3. Marvin Minnis: Questionable again this week. 4. Marty Booker: One-week wonder! 5. Germane Crowell: Yet to show up this season.
INSANEX Experts League Update
My team continues to perform very well. Marshall Faulk led my team to a victory over Jackpot Sports despite huge games by Rich Gannon and Curtis Martin. A late touchdown by Todd Pinkston made it difficult for Mark's squad to catch up. For all the details check out the INSANEX page on FantasyAsylum.com. 'Til next week...may the ball bounce to those that deserve it most! Ryan Houston is the co-owner of FantasyAsylum.com. His column "The Warden Report" can be found there along with other great tools to help increase your Fantasy Football knowledge. Follow The Warden and James Quintong of CNNSI.com as they do battle in INSANEX - The Insane Experts League only on FantasyAsylum.com. The Fantasy Football Institute for Insane Fans! Get Committed ... To Winning!
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