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Week Five | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Studs: Tom Brady, QB, Patriots: Delivered against a bad Browns D, going for 265 and 3 scores. Jason Campbell, QB, Redskins: On a down week for quarterbacking in general, Campbell looked like the real deal, posting 248 and 2 scoresÉkeeping in mind, however, that the Lions defense is still horrible. Kenton Keith, RB, Colts: The good news: I picked up Keith on waivers this week, hearing the rumors that Joseph Addai may not suit up. The bad news: Figuring, on Friday, that Addai would suit up, I left Keith and his 158 total yards and 2 scores on the bench. That said, don’t move heaven and earth to grab Keith (unless you’re an Addai owner), as Addai figures to return after the Colts Week 6 bye. Michael Turner, RB, Chargers: Rushed for 147 yards and a score against Denver, however, we’re pretty sure most of you started the other San Diego RB (see below). Brian Leonard, RB, Rams: Exceeded the century mark on only 18 carries and, in general, has looked better than Steven Jackson in his limited opportunities this season. Najeh Davenport, RB, Steelers*: Rushed for only 58 yards, but found the stripe twice in Pittsburgh’s route of Seattle. Davenport has almost taken on a Marion Barber role in Pittsburgh, and seems to be the go-to guy in the red zone, almost to the point that he’s made us forget the laundry-basket incident. Okay, not really. * Of the six studs listed thus far, five may very well have been on fantasy benches this week. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals: Seems to be Kurt Warner’s “guy” as he racked up 9 catches for 136 and a score, posting big time numbers for the second straight week, with Warner. Also benefits from the absence of Anquan Boldin. Antonio Gates, TE, Chargers: Added 7 catches for 113 yards and a score, cementing his role as San Diego’s #1 WR and #1 TE. They won in convincing fashion, but I think that has more to do with Denver quickly transitioning from mediocre to terrible. The Other Marquee TE’s: Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Ben Watson, and Tony Gonzalez all either topped 100, or scored, or both. Greg Olsen, TE, Bears: I’ve added Olsen to the list only because he scored his first NFL TD Sunday night, and showed the dimension he adds to the Bears feeble offense. Hopefully his performance (57 yards and a TD) is a harbinger of things to come in Chicago. Duds: Carolina QB’s: It’s hard to fully appreciate what the Panthers have in Jake Delhomme, until David Carr begins taking snaps, which makes Steve Smith an ordinary player. It should be said, though, that Carr led the Panthers to victory over the hapless Saints. Drew Brees, QB, Saints: Clearly Brees is trying to do it all, and the result is multiple INT games (another 2 this week) with no TD’s on a team that is going nowhere fast. In happier news, though, Reggie Bush was named the 23rd Best College Football Player in History on an ABC/ESPN College Football telecast. The Lions Passing Game: Jon Kitna, ace pilot of the Mike Martz aerial circus, managed 106 yards and 2 picks, while the Lions other every-week start, Roy Williams had 36 yards on 3 catches. This game brings to light the fact that Jon Kitna is still Jon KitnaÉsomething his owners will deal with a handful of Sundays this season. Though capable of huge points, he’s not yet in the Palmer/Manning/Brady pantheon of consistency. Tampa Bay RB’s: Fantasy players who rushed to the waiver wire to grab Earnest Graham were rewarded with 11 yards on 6 carries, while Michael Pittman and his biceps added -1 on 6 carries. It’s stating the obvious, but this unit has to get better, and Gruden has inquired into free agent backs as well as the possibility of a trade. Larry Johnson, RB, Chiefs: His stat line? 9 carries for 12 yards. Johnson is quickly entering a genre of backs including Chris Brown, DeShawn Wynn, Earnest Graham, etc. that will give you one or two great weeks, succeeded and preceded by several weeks like this one. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers: The good news is that the Charger offense showed signs of life. The bad news is that those signs of life came via Michael Turner and Antonio Gates, not Tomlinson, who managed only 67 yards on 21 carries. Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks: 11 carries, 25 yards. Woof. Not a good week for your top three fantasy picks (see LT, LJ). Travis Henry, RB, Broncos: Failed to find the stripe in a week that saw him join the pantheon of professional athletes famous for siring illegitimate children and dabbling in drugs. It’s stating the obvious, but grab Selvin Young if you haven’t already done so. Atlanta and Tennessee: Those tuning into the Falcons/Titans game expecting great quarterbacking saw the return to earth by Joey Harrington (a much more familiar 87 yards with an INT) as well as Vince Young’s 3 INT’s with no TD’s. The game’s leading rusher was Artose Pinner, who had 49 yardsÉon 1 carry. This was preseason football at its finest. The Titans won on the scoreboard, but we all lost because of this game. Joey Galloway, WR, Bucs: After a blistering two-week start, Galloway has cooled considerably, and posted only 50 yards on 4 catches, with no scores this week. Frank Gore and Darrell Jackson, 49ers: This whole offense figures to receive a downgrade in the absence of Alex Smith, but 2 catches for 6 yards from D-Jax? Gore only managed 52 rushing yards, and failed to find the stripe against an admittedly devastating run defense vs. Baltimore. Santonio Holmes, WR, Steelers: After last week’s fireworksÉinjured his hammy in warm-ups and did not play. 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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