FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 12
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
November 28, 2006
This whole season has been a pretty interesting one, but that is what makes fantasy football so exciting and fun to play. Some weeks have been tougher than you would expect when it comes to bench / start predictions. However, we have managed to more than hold our own. All this said, we knocked it out of the park this week on bench / start. We recommended some start calls that weren’t just good. They could have won you the game. When you can win your game with role-players, you have had a great fantasy week. Without further delay, let’s get to our weekly bench / start review.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Joseph Addai, RB, IND – We told you that Addai should be in line for some decent yardage and that he might even score. We sure hope you threw this rookie in there as he set the single game TD record for a rookie with 4 rushing TDs, 171 yards rushing, and 37 yards receiving. WOW! Addai hasn’t even come close to these numbers and he even had a pretty bad week last week, but giving him the start was a major boost for any fantasy squad. Forget that Addai is a borderline starter for most teams. This performance was one for the ages. 4 TDs for a rookie may not be seen again for a long, long time.
Tony Romo, QB, DAL – Romo is the unusual case of a QB you picked up off waivers and now you might be considering him a starter for your team every week. We encouraged you to start Romo and he came through with a huge game. Romo threw for an amazing 5 TDs. Romo is in the zone right now, so we don’t see any reason to remove this rising star from your lineup.
Devery Henderson, WR, NO – When you are hot, you are hot. Henderson had a huge day that was highlighted by a 76 yard bomb for a TD. Henderson ended up with 158 yards to go with that TD, so we know you are smiling today about this performance.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, CIN – In week 11, Houshmandzadeh had a bad game, but we told you he was primed for a rebound since his concussion had had some time to heal. Houshmandzadeh had 7 receptions for 79 yards and a TD. This was a great game for a player trying to work his way back from a serious injury.
Joey Harrington, QB, MIA – We called this a favorable matchup and a revenge game for Harrington. Well the Lions called out Joey Harrington’s name in the pregame so that the Lions fans could boo him. Harrington got the last laugh by winning the game and by being a major factor in that win. Harrington only had 1 INT, but he had 213 yards passing and 3 TD passes. This game was a perfect example of a player rising to the occasion, and Harrington came through in a big way for our start call.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI – Fitzgerald had a terrible week 11 game and it was possible that owners might not have had much faith in him since his injury. We encouraged you to stick with Fitzgerald and it paid off. He rolled up 172 yards receiving and a very impressive 11 receptions. Fitzgerald was a great start in all formats, but he was a primetime player in point per reception leagues.
Bench:
Edgerrin James, RB, ARI – We took the opportunity in our weekly bench / start to call out Edgerrin James for the terrible season he is having. We didn’t like him before the season started and we still don’t like him. James had a terrible game as we predicted by only accumulating 25 yards of offense and having a fumble.
Donte Stallworth, WR, PHI – Stallworth was looking like a star with McNabb, but told you to jump ship with the news that McNabb was done for the season. Stallworth had a very benchable game with only 2 catches for 9 yards. Yikes! That was a great bench call.
Anthony Thomas, RB, BUF – Hopefully, you sold Thomas while the getting was good and you used him for all he was worth. Willis McGahee returned and helped to make our bench call come true. Thomas only had 13 yards receiving.
Trent Green, QB, KC – We still had concerns about Green’s belfry, so we told you to wait until you see him start to look like the old Trent Green. Green looked pretty terrible with 161 yards, 0 TDs, and an INT. Benching Green was a good move.
Arlen Harris, RB, DET – Kevin Jones was out, so many of you grabbed Harris off the waivers. We wanted you to know it was not a good time to start Harris. Harris did have a bad turkeyday with 15 yards rushing and 22 yards receiving.
Doug Gabriel, WR, NE – He played and was thrown to, but he didn’t score a single fantasy point.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Alge Crumpler, TE, ATL – Only one catch for Crumpler, but it was for 43 yards. This wasn’t a great game, but Crumpler managed a decent game by TE standards.
Joey Galloway, WR, DAL – Galloway was close to a good start this week, but 71 yards isn’t enough to get the job done this week. As a result, it was only a so-so start for Galloway.
Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA – Brown got injured and that put a big cramp in our start call. Brown only managed 73 yards of offense.
Bench:
Jason Campbell, QB, WAS – Campbell only managed 118 yards and he did have an INT, but his 2 TDs got him out of the good bench calls and made him a mediocre start that wouldn’t have killed your team.
Reggie Brown, WR, PHI – Brown only had 2 receptions for 9 yards, but one of those was a TD. As a result, it was a so-so bench call on Brown this week.
Eric Moulds, WR, HOU – 79 yards is almost enough to be a busted bench call, but it isn’t enough this weekend.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Jake Delhomme, QB, CAR – Delhomme threw 2 interceptions and only had 1 TD. He was almost a so-so start call, but he just wasn’t that impressive with only 168 yards passing.
Michael Jenkins, WR, ATL – 2 receptions for 6 yards is terrible. Vick tried to get him the ball, but apparently all of the Falcons’ WRs play with sticks of butter before the game.
Eddie Kennison, WR, KC – 1 catch for 16 is terrible. That was a bad, bad call by us on starting Kennison.
Deion Branch, WR, SEA – 4 receptions for 38 for Branch clearly shows us that Matt Hasselbeck is VERY rusty. Starting him or his WRs will be risky next week. Branch was a busted start call.
Bench:
None this week
