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Week 10 marked the last week of byes in the 2005 season.   We hope that you were able to make the most of your fantasy roster with the rash of injuries that has hit the NFL in the past few weeks.   In a week where league fantasy scores were down, we were able to make lots of good calls for many fantasy teams.   This solid week of picking the fantasy bench / start players has been recorded in our wrap up.   We hope that you were able to take advantage of these calls and pull off a fantasy win or two.   As always, we own up to our calls in the weekly bench / start wrap up.   Sit back in your chair and enjoy this look back at week 10.

Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Chris Chambers – Chambers was a fantastic start call week 10.   He hauled in 6 receptions for 69 yards and 2 TDs.   We told you that New England’s secondary was ripe for the picking, and we hope that you took advantage of that.

Larry Johnson – We posted this start prediction before Holmes announced that he was done for the year, but we knew that Johnson would have a big game either way.   Johnson did everything but score on Sunday.   He had 5 receptions and 178 yards of total offense.   Johnson would have had an even better day if the Chiefs would have stuck with him in the second half.   Trent Green was having a terrible day and the game was not out of reach.   However, Kansas City decided to try and throw the ball, and they lost the game.   Johnson was a solid start week 10, but his ceiling is even higher with Willie Roaf in the lineup.   If you are a Chiefs fan or a Johnson owner, you have better hope for a quick return of the perennial pro bowler.

Jacksonville Jaguars D – The Jags lit the Ravens like a Roman candle.   The Jags D had 3 interceptions, 4 sacks, and an interception returned for a TD.   On top of this, Jacksonville only allowed 3 points.   This is just about as dominating a performance as you can get from a fantasy D.   The Jags were a great start week 10.

Warrick Dunn – Warrick Dunn had another solid game even though his team lost the game.   Dunn rushed for 76 yards, caught 6 passes for 52 yards, and he scored a TD.   As always, we wish that he wouldn’t have fumbled, but it was still a great day from Dunn.

Gus Frerotte – We actually had people write in questioning this recommendation after Frerotte’s performance week 9.   However, we felt like things were in alignment for a solid game from Frerotte.   Frerotte did not disappoint with 360 yards passing, only 1 interception, and 2 TD passes.   If you filled your bye week with Frerotte, you were probably VERY pleased.

Tiki Barber – Tiki Barber had a great fantasy game week 10.   He was only 5 yards shy of 100 on the ground and he had 8 receptions for 111 yards in the air.   Barber added a TD and a 2 point conversion.   To recap, over 200 yards of total offense, 8 receptions, 1 TD, 1 2pt conversion.   It just doesn’t get much better than that, so you better have had Barber in your lineup week 10.

Chicago Bears D – On a windy day in the windy city, the Bears D blew away the 49ers.   The Bears had 1 INT, 1 fumble recovery, a punt return for a TD, and they only allowed 9 points.   This was a very solid effort by the monsters of the midway.

Stephen Davis – Davis had 81 yards and he managed to find the end zone again.   It was a solid fantasy effort from Mr. Davis once again.   This guy is an end zone machine, so you should continue to ride him until he breaks down.

Reggie Wayne – Wayne was the only major receiving threat for the Colts not to score, but he did rack up the most receptions.   Wayne’s 8 receptions for 72 yards were a very solid start in point per reception leagues.

Bench:
Ernest Wilford – Wilford was on a TD tear the past few weeks, but we told you to sit him down.   Wilford only had 1 reception for 10 yards.   Hopefully you didn’t have that in your lineup dragging down your fantasy squad.

Kevan Barlow – If you were in a league that awards points per carry, Barlow was a decent start.   However, we don’t know of many leagues that do that, so Barlow was a good bench call.   All Barlow managed was 58 yards on the ground with no receptions.   We think that you will start to see more of Frank Gore in the coming weeks while the 49ers try to figure out what they have in him.

The 49ers QB – We didn’t know what crazy stuff the 49ers might have tried to pull at QB week 10, but we wanted to make sure that you stayed far away from all San Francisco QBs week 10.   Pickett got all of the snaps for the 49ers and he was a poor start.   He only threw for 28 yards.   We repeat … he only threw for 28 yards.   He added 15 on the ground and an interception.   Pickett wasn’t the worst QB you could start week 10 (Kelly Holcomb holds that distinction), but he was pretty darn close to it.

Charles Rogers – Rogers was a great bench call week 10.   Rogers was coming back and some teams might have hoped to use him week 10, but we advised against that.   Rogers only had 1 reception for 4 yards.   That is better than Kelly Holcomb’s day, but not by much.

Dennis Northcutt – Northcutt had a stellar day week 9, but we told you that this week he would not see the same success against the Steelers.   He didn’t.   Northcutt was a good bench call with only 31 yards receiving on 4 receptions.

Michael Clayton – We said Clayton’s fantasy 2005 season is over and it looks like that is the case.   He was inactive in Sunday’s bout with the Redskins.   He is looking less and less like the super rookie we saw in 2004. Reggie Brown – 3 catches for 15 yards made this rookie a good bench call week 10.   He had a fantastic week 9, but we thought he was going to regress this week against the Cowboys … and he did.


Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Drew Bledsoe – Bledsoe was a so-so start week 10.   He threw a TD passing in his team’s winning effort, but he also threw a pick and didn’t have a very impressive night yardage wise.

Eric Moulds – Mould was pretty close to being a busted call, but we let him just make the cut for so-so start calls week 10 thanks to his hefty 5 receptions.

Matt Hasselbeck – Hasselbeck had another solid day managing the Shaun Alexander express.   If Hasselbeck would keep some of those TDs for himself, he might start to look like the fantasy QB we hope he can be.   He had a TD pass and 2 INTs to go along with his 243 yards passing.   As such, Hasselbeck was a so-so start week 10.   We should add that this turned out to be a wet and nasty game.

Bench:
Trent Dilfer – Dilfer was a so-so bench call week 10.   He had an INT and a TD to go along with his passing yards.   The 9 yard TD strike is what really kept us from getting our bench prediction correct on Dilfer.


Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Muhsin Muhammad – It was a very windy day in Chicago and that helped make Muhammad a bad start call.   “Moose” only had 1 reception for 3 yards.   Yikes!

Joe Jurevicius – 3 receptions for 27 yards is not what we expected out of Jurevicius.   The Seahawks found out that they really didn’t need to throw the ball that much against the Rams, so they just pounded the Rams with Shaun Alexander all day long.

Bench:
Chris Simms – Raise your hand if you didn’t see this Chris Simms explosion coming (note: our hands are raised).   Simms had a great day.   He didn’t turn the ball over and he threw for nearly 280 yards and 3 TD passes.   All we can say is wow!   He really blew up our bench prediction with a day that was B I G.

Domanick Davis (Wells if Davis cannot play) – Davis didn’t play, but Wells still managed to have a decent game.   He only had 75 yards of total offense, but he did score.   That score made him a decent start and a busted bench call on our part.

Mark Brunell – Brunell had 3 turnovers, 2 TDs, and reasonable yardage, but the 2 point conversion really helped to make him a busted call instead of a so-so call.   This Redskins Tampa Bay game turned out to be much more aerial than we had anticipated.