Tip Sheet

Vick, Henry, Davis prove worth after big openings

Michael Vick looks to be a fantasy force thanks to big numbers both in the air and on the ground. Harry How/Getty Images

By Richard Harris, Special to CNNSI.com

Stock Rising

Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta: If Vick is your backup fantasy QB, you may want to consider trading your starter to upgrade at another spot. Sunday in Green Bay, the Falcons’ dazzling young quarterback played his best game as a pro and nearly led his team to a huge upset. Vick completed his first 10 passes and finished 15-of-23 for 209 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 72 yards, scoring another TD. He would have had an even better day if TE Reggie Kelly and WR Brian Finneran had not dropped a pair of touchdown passes.

Travis Henry, RB, Buffalo: Heading into the opener vs. the Jets, a suspect offensive line and a lackluster preseason were two reasons to be wary of Henry. However, the Bills' young tackles -- second-year man Jonas Jennings on the left side and mountainous rookie Mike Williams on the right -- had surprisingly solid games, and the presence of quarterback Drew Bledsoe prevented the New York defense from stacking the line to stop the run. The result: Henry had a career-high 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. He was also involved in the passing game, catching six balls for 29 yards. We cannot forget, however, that the Jets ranked 28th against the run last year, and they allowed Henry to break numerous tackles en route to his breakout game.

Stephen Davis, RB, Washington: Those worried that Davis would be a forgotten man in the Washington offense can rest easy. Against Arizona on Sunday, he had 26 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown, and added seven catches for 46 yards.

Charlie Garner, RB, Oakland: Garner led the Raiders past Seattle on Sunday, running 15 times for 127 yards and a touchdown and catching five passes for another 64 yards and a score. Last season, he rushed for a season-high 84 yards against the Jets in the final regular-season game, and it wasn't until a week later in the AFC wild-card game, once more against the Jets, that he posted a 100-yard game with 158. Garner’s touchdown run came from 20 yards, and he was taken out of the game near the goal line. The Raiders may want to rethink that strategy, however. For example, Garner was pulled at the 1-yard line in favor of Terry Kirby in the third quarter, and Kirby promptly lost three yards and a fumble that was returned 71 yards by Seattle CB Shawn Springs.

Amani Toomer, WR, NY Giants: In last Thursday’s loss to the 49ers, the Giants’ rebuilt offensive line did a poor job opening holes for the running backs. As a result, QB Kerry Collins went to the air often and finished 28-of-45 for 342 yards. Collins’ favorite target was the trimmed-down Toomer, who matched his single-game high with nine catches for 134 yards. Toomer, who appears to be a step quicker after dropping 15 pounds in the offseason, abused 49ers CB Jason Webster all evening.

Tom Brady, QB, New England: Not a fantasy favorite because of the Patriots’ conservative offensive system, Brady’s stock climbed after Monday night’s dismantling of the Steelers, who had league’s top-ranked defense last year. He threw 25 straight times during the second and third quarters in a spread-out offense that often included five wide receivers and an empty backfield. He finished with 294 passing yards and threw touchdown passes to TE Christian Fauria and wideouts Donald Hayes and Deion Branch, none of whom were with the Patriots last season.

Shane Matthews, QB, Washington: Matthews rebounded from a shaky start, which included an interception that led to Arizona's first touchdown, to complete 28 of 40 passes for 327 yards. It was only the second 300-yard game of Matthews’ nine-year career, and it should not be overlooked that it came against the Cardinals, who ranked 28th in total defense last season and may be weaker on that side of the ball this year.

Quincy Morgan, WR, Cleveland: Morgan, a 2001 second-round pick, had a breakout game on Sunday, catching nine balls for 151 yards and two scores. Kevin Johnson remains the go-to receiver in the Cleveland offense, but the emerging Morgan is certainly worth a look as a backup receiver for your fantasy squad.

Donald Driver, WR, Green Bay: While Terry Glenn missed some time due to a mild concussion and was limited to two catches for 60 yards, Driver caught a team-leading seven balls for 78 yards in the Packers’ win over Atlanta.

Phil Dawson, K, Cleveland: Dawson is well on his way to having a career year. He has not failed on a field-goal attempt in a regular-season game since Oct. 7 last year, and against the Chiefs he made all four of his attempts and scored 15 points. It's also worth noting that he made all four of his field-goal attempts in the preseason finale.

Randy McMichael, TE, Miami: Coordinator Norv Turner has reincorporated the tight end into the Miami offense, and the athletic fourth-round pick caught four passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in the Dolphins’ victory over the Lions. It was the most receiving yards by a Miami tight end since Troy Drayton’s 80 vs. Kansas City in 1997.

Corey Bradford, WR, Houston: After a quiet preseason, Bradford established himself as David Carr’s go-to guy in the opener, a 19-10 win over the Cowboys. Bradford drew a 43-yard pass interference penalty from CB Bryant Westbrook on the first play of the game, and went on to catch four passes for 99 yards and a touchdown.

Eddie Kennison, WR, Kansas City: It appears that Kennison has resurrected his career in Kansas City, his second stint under head coach Dick Vermeil. Against the Browns, he finished with 120 yards on four receptions. It was Kennison's second 100-yard effort in six games in a Chiefs uniform.

Donte’ Stallworth, WR, Saints: Stallworth started on Sunday against the Buccaneers, as the Saints opened the game in a three-receiver set. The rookie blew past the Tampa Bay secondary on a 41-yard scoring reception and finished with four catches for 63 yards.

Keep an Eye on

Jim Miller, QB, Chicago: In Sunday’s win over the Vikings, Miller passed for the most yards since John Shoop became the offensive coordinator in Chicago, completing 20 of 33 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. For those who do not remember, Miller had some stellar games under former coordinator Gary Crowton. During a three-game stretch when he started for an injured Cade McNown in 1999, Miller completed 84 of 123 passes (68.3 percent) for 983 yards and six TDs. With an outstanding receiving corps that includes Marty Booker, Dez White, Marcus Robinson and David Terrell, Miller could have more efforts similar to Sunday’s if Shoop continues to open up the offense.

Kelly Holcomb, QB, Cleveland: In Sunday's 40-39 loss to Kansas City, the sixth-year backup QB completed 27 of 39 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. Holcomb’s superb performance means that the Browns do not have to rush Tim Couch (elbow) back into action. Couch, who was throwing during pre-game warmups, thinks that he’ll be ready to play this Sunday against Cincinnati, but there is some concern that he will not be 100 percent anytime soon because he has battled tendinitis in the same elbow for the past three years.

Willie Jackson, WR, Atlanta: Minutes before Sunday's game at Green Bay, it was announced that Jackson would start at split end for Shawn Jefferson. Jackson, a flanker who never worked at split end during the entire preseason, doesn't have the deep speed typically associated with split ends, but it looks like the move is permanent. Jackson, who had 81 receptions for 1,046 yards for the Saints last year before joining Atlanta as an unrestricted free agent, caught four passes for a team-high 73 yards in Green Bay.

Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia: The rookie from Villanova was the only Eagles’ running back to impress in Sunday’s loss to the Titans. The Eagles used him mostly in their four wide-receiver packages, which effectively spread the defense and created running lanes that allowed Westbrook to take advantage of his quickness. He rushed for a team-high 42 yards on eight carries.

Stock Falling

Brian Griese, QB, Denver: How close did Griese come to getting benched on Sunday against the Rams? Very close. He opened the second half with back-to-back interceptions, and his quarterback rating slipped from 139.9 after the first quarter to 57.5 after three quarters. After warming up on the sidelines at the start of the fourth quarter, backup Steve Beuerlein stood behind Broncos coach Mike Shanahan waiting to be inserted into the game. Holding a tenuous 16-13 lead with about 10 minutes remaining in the contest, Shanahan waited on his decision to replace Griese with Beuerlein for Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins. Wilkins' 39-yard field-goal attempt to tie the score fell short, and Shanahan handed the ball back to Griese, who on the day completed 16 of 27 attempts for 202 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

William Green, RB, Cleveland: Green was one of the few Cleveland offensive players who did not have a big game on Sunday. The rookie looked sluggish and gained just 17 yards on eight carries (2.1 avg.). Green missed last Thursday's practice with back spasms and did not start. Jamel White, who got the starting nod, had a modest 42 yards on 12 carries, so Green is not out of the picture yet.

Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas: So much for an improved passing attack opening the running lanes for Smith. In the Cowboys’ loss to Houston, QB Quincy Carter, who had a solid preseason, completed only 13 of 30 passes for 131 yards and an interception. Carter sprayed balls all over the field, forced passes into coverage, and should have been picked off more than once. Smith, meanwhile, was limited to 67 yards and no touchdowns on 17 carries against the expansion Texans.

Jacquez Green, WR, Washington: Eight different receivers caught passes for the Redskins on Sunday, but Green was not one of them. Rod Gardner established himself as the No. 1 wideout with seven receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown, and Derrius Thompson did nothing to jeopardize his starting job by grabbing four balls for 45 yards and a score.

Bill Schroeder, WR, Detroit: Infamous in Green Bay for dropping passes and running the wrong routes, Schroeder didn't have a catch and short-armed one of the few passes thrown his way in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins. Meanwhile, Az-Zahir Hakim caught nine passes for 97 yards.

Cleveland Defense/Special Teams: Heading into the season, the Browns were considered by many to have one of the top five fantasy defense/special team units. The team’s 40-39 loss to Kansas City, however, produced some alarming results. Chiefs QB Trent Green, who led the league with 24 interceptions in 2001 and was picked off five times in the last two preseason games, completed 20 of 29 passes and was intercepted just once. Playing without LB Jamir Miller, who is on injured reserve after leading the team with 13 sacks last season, the Browns never sacked Green. More importantly, the Cleveland run defense, which figured to be much improved with the addition of MLB Earl Holmes (one tackle), allowed RB Priest Holmes to gash them for 122 yards and four TDs on 22 carries.

Richard Harris is the Senior Writer and Managing Editor for FantasyFootballExperts.com. His weekly columns have appeared on either ESPN.com or USAToday.com over the past four years, and this season, he will be featured on CNNSI.com. FantasyFootballExperts.com offers exclusive and in-depth articles, player rankings and cheat sheets for multiple scoring systems, injury updates, weekly matchup analysis, and other essentials for a fantasy football championship.

 

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