 | ||
 | | |
Week Fifteen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Denver at Houston Bench: Javon Walker, WR, Broncos: He’s a big name, but that’s about it at this point as his knee has yet to fully come around. Start: Ron Dayne (or Darius Walker), RB, Texans: Check the injury reports, but the plodding one makes a good start this week against a run defense that has struggled to stop anyone. He should find the stripe at least once. That said, if he can’t go, Walker will make an adequate start as well. Cincinnati at San Francisco Bench: Frank Gore, RB, 49ers: Has only found the stripe in 3 games this season, and has only topped 100 yards once. Start: Rudi Johnson, RB, Bengals: Dwell not on his anemic YPC this season, rather, on the fact that he has scored in each of the last three games and faces an absolutely cupcake schedule down the stretch. Arizona at New Orleans Bench: Edgerrin James, RB, Cardinals: This guy hasn’t scored in forever, and I’m tired of waiting as guys like Leonard Pope and Jerhame Urban vulture red zone touches. Start: Both Quarterbacks: If these teams have proven anything, it’s that both secondaries are vulnerable K-Warn (provided he can limit turnovers) and Brees should be money this week. Aaron Stecker, RB, Saints: A Saint RB topped 100 yards for the first time all season last week, and it wasn’t Reggie Bush. Atlanta at Tampa Bay Bench: Warrick Dunn, RB, Falcons: With Bobby Petrino hitting the road, I have to think so goes Dunn’s chances of touching the rock much the rest of the season. Start: Jeff Garcia, QB, Bucs: He should be back this week, and has been ultra-consistent (11 TD, 2 INT) the whole season. Also, the Falcons are fresh off a torching at the hands of New Orleans. Baltimore at Miami Bench: Kyle Boller, QB, Ravens: Even if he starts (could be Troy Smith), it’s still Kyle Boller. Start: Willis McGahee, RB, Ravens: This is the selfsame Dolphin D that gave up 100 yards to both Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson last week. Plus, the Ravens pass game is a wreck. Buffalo at Cleveland Bench: Joe Jurevicius, WR, Browns: As the Browns offense has cooled from “scintillating” to just “good,” Jurevicius hasn’t found the end zone since Week 4. Start: Marshawn Lynch, RB, Bills: Proved that he’s back with a 100 yard performance last week, and faces the porous Browns this week. Though he shares the rock with Fred Jackson, he’ll still get his 100 and a score. Trent Edwards, QB, Bills: The Browns secondary is awful and Edwards has looked less than awful at times. Jamal Lewis, RB, Browns: May not reach 100, but should find the end zone again. Green Bay at St. Louis Bench: Marc Bulger, QB, Rams: He may not be back, but even if he does make an appearance, he hasn’t been great this season (6 TD, 9 INT) and Steven Jackson figures to carry the load. Start: Ryan Grant, RB, Packers: Should have a huge yardage outing and find the end zone against the Rams. Jacksonville at Pittsburgh Bench: Jags Backs: Fred Taylor looked like a world-beater last week, but he has the Steelers in cold weather this week and still shares the ball with MJD. Start: David Garrard, QB, Jags: This guy is still way undervalued but should be starting every week. Reggie Williams, WR, Jags: Has scored 3 times in the last 4 weeks, and should be a good bet to do so again. It won’t be a RB. New York Jets at New England Bench: Kellen Clemens, QB, Jets: Figures to be on the ground a lot. Look elsewhere. Start: All of Your Patriots: Even Laurence Maroney should gain a few yards this week, as the Jets struggle vs. the run. This also feels like one of those weeks where Belichick will open the playbook in search of a humiliating margin of victory. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Mike Vrabel, Vince Wilfork and Andre Tippet score this week. Thomas Jones, RB, Jets: The Jets don’t figure to pass much, and the Pats have shown vulnerability vs. the run lately. Seattle at Carolina Bench: The Panthers: This team stinks. To wit, Steve Smith hasn’t scored since Week 6 and he’s their best player. Start: Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seahawks: Has quietly been very good this season, racking up 24 aerial TD’s. Nate Burleson, WR, Seahawks: 2 TD’s in 2 weeks, plus an iffy DJ Hackett, makes Burly attractive. Tennessee at Kansas City Bench: Both Quarterbacks: The Titans and Chiefs are 8th and 9th respectively against the pass, and in case you’ve forgotten, neither of these quarterbacks are good. Start: LenDale White, RB, Titans: The Chiefs give up 123 YPG on the ground and LenDale was effective last week with a heavy workload. Indianapolis at Oakland Bench: The Raiders Passing Game: The Colts have the best secondary in football and the Raiders will either be starting a McCown or a rookie. You do the math. Start: Joseph Addai, RB, Colts: Joseph Addai, Joseph Addai, 100 times Joseph Addai. Oakland can’t stop anybody on the ground. Detroit at San Diego Bench: Jon Kitna, QB, Lions: The absence of Shawne Merriman improves his chances of living through the game, but he still hasn’t been great lately. Start: Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers: It’s been hard to recommend inconsistent Phil this year, but consider this: Detroit’s awful secondary has given up a gaudy 26 TD’s and Chris Chambers is beginning to show signs of life. Philadelphia at Dallas Bench: Any Eagle Not Named Brian Westbrook: Westy has been his usual stud self this season, but the next-closest Eagle receiver is Kevin Curtis, with 59 grabs. This offense is just too inconsistent to trust in the playoffs. Start: Marion Barber, RB, Cowboys: You’re already starting Romo, TO, and Witten every week, but Barber has been a beast of late. He’s averaging nearly 5 YPC this season and has 9 scores. Washington at New York Giants Bench: Todd Collins, QB, Redskins: Seemed to have played with Gerald Ford at Michigan years ago and was a nice feel-good story last week. However, the Giants and their 47 sacks come into town and, if he makes it through the game alive, Collins still makes for a poor start. Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins: Has underperformed all season. Where’s LaDell Betts? Start: Plaxico Burress, WR, Giants: I bought into all of the “Plaxico is hurt” business and benched him last week a week in which, you’ll recall, he went off in a big way. Start him this week. Chicago at Minnesota Bench: Adrian Peterson, RB, Bears: See: Stifling Minnesota run defense. Start: Chester Taylor, RB, Vikings: Sure, he’ll split carries with AP, but expect both backs to rack up big yards. Tarvaris Jackson, QB, Vikings: If you’re in a deep league or have had injury issues, you could do worse than to start Tarvaris. Bad Quarterbacks Likely to Start: If you’ve been ravaged by injury and have yet somehow managed to make the playoffs, consider the following list of journeyman quarterbacks likely to start: Chris Redman, QB, Falcons: Fresh off a coaching change, Redman, who used to sell insurance, now finds himself a starting QB and actually showed signs of life Monday night. Cleo Lemon, QB, Dolphins: It’s been decided that Lemon gives the Dolphins their best chance to win now...insert ironic comment here. Vinny Testaverde, QB, Panthers: The senior circuit rolls on with Vinny leading the chargeÉunfortunately, I can’t recommend any Panthers down the fantasy stretch. Shaun Hill, QB, 49ers: Alex Smith. Trent Dilfer. Shaun Hill. Different QB’s, same results. Kyle Orton, QB, Bears: If you have to pick a QB off this list, I’d go with Orton, who has gotten it done before. Todd Collins, QB, Redskins: Yeah, this is the same Collins who had a ten-year gap in between starts before last week. Troy Smith, QB, Ravens: He should start this week, but then again Billick might give Boller yet another second chance. Ted Kluck is the author of three books, including “Paper Tiger: One Athlete’s Journey to the Underbelly of Pro Football.” Visit him online at www.tedkluck.com.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[Home] [Newsletters] [FREE Plays] [Publications] | ||
| | |