FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 13
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
December 5, 2006
It has been a wild season and lucky week 13 was no exception. We made some good calls on players like Edgerring James, Steve McNair, Corey Dillon and Travis Henry to name a few. However, we did manage to get some egg on our face by recommending Eli Manning for a bench call. We believe that Eli Manning has a secret agenda, so we go into that and much more in our weekly bench / start wrap up.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Edgerrin James, RB, ARI – We said this about James last week :
“We expect about 100 yards of total offense out of James and hopefully he will tack on a TD as well, but we are not holding our breath.” Well, James ended up with his first 100+ yard game of the season. James had 115 yards on 26 carries. As we feared, James had no TDs, but his yardage was VERY impressive by the standards he has set in 2006.
Corey Dillon, RB, NE – Entering week 13, Dillon was coming off of a terrible performance with only 43 yards and fumble. However, we told you that Dillon would find much better success against the Lions. As we expected, Dillon bounced right back from his off game and gave his owners 30 yards of total offense and 3 TDs. 3 TDs will get it done every time and in any fantasy league. We hope everyone got the chance to enjoy this old timer.
Steve McNair, QB, BAL – McNair had a heck of a game. He played mistake free football and he threw a very nice 36 yard TD strike. McNair’s 27 yards rushing only enhanced what was a solid fantasy effort. If McNair can keep this up, he might be someone you could use for a spot start in the playoffs. He sure had a much better game than Matt Hasselbeck.
New England Patriots Defense – The Patriots did, in fact, turn out to be a great start week 13. This defensive unit forced 3 INTS, 2 FUM, and 5 sacks to go along with only 19 points allowed by the defense. The Patriots D could have helped several fantasy teams get the win just as much as they helped New England to a win.
Travis Henry, RB, TEN – Henry had 102 yards of total offense and 3 receptions. Henry continues to turn in solid performances. Despite the fact that he started the season down the depth chart and being challenged by a rookie, Henry has risen to the occasion to become a reliable fantasy starter.
Chad Pennington, QB, NYJ – Pennington is killing his numbers with turnovers. He had 2 again this week, but he had 2 TDs that more than cancel out those INTs. Pennington’s 263 yards passing helped to make him a solid start week 13.
Alge Crumpler, TE, ATL – Coming into this week’s game, Crumpler had averaged only 32 yards and 0 TDs over his past 3 games. We felt a Falcons burst coming on, so we told you to saddle up Crumpler and ride him. He took his owners to the promise land with 62 yards and a very nice looking TD strike in the Falcons win over the Redskins. Crumpler was a great start for a TE in week 13.
Tom Brady, QB, NE – Much like the relationship this week between Reggie Bush andDrew Brees, Corey Dillon took all the TDs and he didn’t leave much for Brady to collect. Brady had no TD passes, but his yardage numbers were very nice. Brady broke 300 yards passing and he threw for a 2 point conversion. This was a serviceable start by Brady.
Bench:
Brad Johnson, QB, MIN – Johnson managed 0 TDs and only 73 yards to go along with his 4 (FOUR) INTs. Johnson actually played worse than Dan Fouts this weekend and Fouts hasn’t played in years. Hopefully, you didn’t start Johnson.
Jerramy Stevens, TE, SEA – 2 receptions for 12 yards is pretty ugly. The Broncos defense continues to be very stingy and that helped make Stevens a great bench.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Jamal Lewis, RB, BAL – Lewis rushed for 61 yards and he had an additional 26 yards receiving on 2 receptions. Lewis just didn’t quiet make it to the good calls of the week, but he shouldn’t have killed your team too badly.
Randy Moss, WR, OAK – While Moss did outperformed 4 out of his last 5 weeks, he didn’t knock anyone’s socks off with his lackluster effort. 4 receptions for 44 yards is a mediocre day at best. The only reason Moss is spared the complete bust designation is that he managed those 4 receptions. Those receptions went a long way in point per reception leagues. If you have ANY other options, it might be time to leave Moss on the pine for good.
Joseph Addai, RB, IND – The entire Colts team plays like a super stud WR. One week a player is hot as fire and the next week that same player is cold as ice. This week was a cool week for Addai because he only had 56 yards rushing and 11 yards receiving. This is just enough to get Addai to the so-so start calls, but he is flirting with a bust. There just wasn’t a way to bench him after last week’s 4 TD performance, so you have to take the good with the bad with this explosive player.
Bench:
Joey Harrington, QB, MIA – Harrington had good yardage and a TD, but he also followed those numbers up with 2 INTs and negative rushing yards. Harrington is very close to being a busted bench call, but he didn’t make it this week. Harrington was a middle of the road start this past weekend.
Sammy Morris, RB, MIA – 67 yards and no TDs gets Morris to the so-so bench calls of the week. He didn’t do anything special, but he did get a decent amount of touches.
Jon Kitna, QB, DET – Kitna had some great passing yardage, but 3 INTS and a FUM will help knock you backwards. Kitna would have been a great start if he wouldn’t have turned the ball over so much. However, he ended up being a so-so start thanks to his carelessness with the football.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Devery Henderson, WR, NO – Joe Horn didn’t play (check) and Marques Colston didn’t play (double check), so Henderson should have had another solid fantasy effort against a suspect 49ers defense. Not so fast my friend. Henderson had a terrible game as the Saints decided to have a Reggie Bush show. Bush collected (or hoarded depending on how you look at it) 4 TDs in week 13. That didn’t leave many TDs for the rest of the team, so you didn’t see the big numbers from the rest of the Saints. That included an ugly effort from Henderson.
Desmond Clark, TE, CHI – Clark was thrown to 3 times, but Rex Grossman’s nearly negative passer rating destroyed all fantasy value on the Bears offense. Perhaps if “Sexy Rexy” would try to use his TE a little more, he might have a passer rating that can break 10. Avoid both Clark and Grossman until further notice.
Greg Jennings, WR, GB – Jennings only caught 2 balls and Driver only caught 3. The difference is that Driver scored with one of his catches. Favre had a pretty poor day and that contributed greatly to the sad performance of his receiving corps. Favre just didn’t hook up with any of his receivers and that included Jennings. We only called Jennings a spot start if you didn’t have a lot of options. Hopefully, you had some other options.
Bench:
Donte Stallworth, WR, PHI and Reggie Brown, WR, PHI – Let us take this moment to apologize to the great Jeff Garcia. Despite the fact that Garcia has had fantasy success in the past, we doubted that this soft talking and softer throwing old geezer had anything left in the tank. Well, Garcia showed us, the Panthers, and the rest of the Nation that he can still make it happen. We do not endorse Jeff Garcia as a solution to your fantasy QB problem, but you could do worse. Jeff Garcia had a great game throwing to these two WRs and they all showed us that a Bench call was an incorrect decision.
Vince Young, QB, TEN – Young is another QB that is making us eat crow. Vince Young continues to impress and he is now a fantasy option. He only had 163 yards passing, but his ability to scramble bolsters his stats in most fantasy leagues. Young continues to show his detractors that he is a leader and a QB. The Falcons would like to know if they can trade Michael Vick for him right now.
Marty Booker, WR, MIA – Booker stuck it to us by scoring a TD and collecting 61 yards passing. This day wasn’t unbelievable, but it is more than enough to warrant a start.
Eli Manning, QB, NYG – We doubt that many of you started Eli Manning after how he has treated you over the past few weeks. Then, just to really tick EVERYONE off, he throws for two scores, 270 yards, and no interceptions. The only explanation for this is that Manning hates fantasy football and wants us all to suffer for playing this game!
