FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 3
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
September 23, 2003
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That was the
case when looking at week 3 versus week 2. After a fantasy bonanza week 2,
week 3 was ugly. Despite the mess of the week, the Docs still faired pretty
well on their weekly Bench / Start.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Brad Johnson - So far, we have been trying to give some good advice to teams who fell
a little too far in the QB free-fall. Johnson wasn't a particularly popular pick
on draft day, but he came through for you this week if you started him against the
Falcons. Johnson posted 192 yards passing and 2 TDs. One of those TDs
was for 68 yards, which made Johnson's score even higher in big-play-bonus leagues.
Moe Williams - Those of you who snatched up Williams late in your drafts or off the
waivers have been mightily rewarded. Williams had another good day with 6
receptions and 149 total yards of offense. For many teams out there, Williams
is closing in on the status of an every week starter.
Peyton Manning - After the first two weeks of the season, Manning was atrocious.
He was so horrible that many had begun to give up on this fantasy star. Considering
that week 3 was a pretty bad week across the board fantasy-wise, Manning's 216 yards for
2 TDs and 1 Int was a pretty good day. While this performance isn't exactly what
Manning owners expect out of this high draft pick, he is headed in the right direction
with this, his highest out put of the season thus far.
Rod Gardner - Gardner has a lot of you sweating it out this week. While his
yardage wasn't that impressive this weekend, he did manage to sniff out the end zone
for the second week in a row. With that score he also managed to save his
fantasy day.
Bench:
Doug Johnson - After the first two weeks of the season, Johnson had moved himself up the
fantasy rankings to become one of the top 5 fantasy QBs in most systems. However,
we warned you about his week 3 game. Sure enough, Johnson had a miserable game
with only 95 yards passing NO TDs and 3 Ints. If you started Johnson, he probably
landed you negative points. If you followed our advice and didn't start the
Falcons QB, you saved yourself some heartache.
William Green - Green has been a huge bust through two weeks. After his week 3
performance, you can make that three weeks of bust. Green only managed 47 yards
rushing. This was a good week to leave Green on your pine.
Dane Looker - Week 2 Looker had a score and was showing some mild chemistry with Bulger.
Keeping Looker on your bench was the right move week 3 with his 25 yards
and 0 TDs.
Jimmy Farris - Last week we said, "Farris started to show some chemistry with Doug
Johnson. No doubt this came from working on the second team together."
Then we turned right around and told you to bench Farris after his 58 yards and a TD
performance. We nailed this one on the head, as Farris only managed 4 yards.
Tom Brady - Brady turned in a near flawless performance week 2, but, as we predicted,
the Pats focused on the run and left Brady's fantasy stats out to dry week 3.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Brett Favre - Favre had a decent game, but he didn't have the explosion we had hoped
for against the Cardinals. There really is no excuse for this one on the Packers
end. Arizona is not a good team. Does this mean that the Packers are in
trouble? Probably.
Jabar Gaffney - Gaffney's 5 receptions were nice in leagues that award points for
catches. As we expected, the Chief blew away the Texans and left Carr and
company no choice but to throw the rock. If only Andre Johnson would have
shared some of his touchdowns with Gaffney, we would have had this one through the
roof. "If frogs has wing…." We know.
Amos Zereoue - Zereoue's total yardage was nice, but the fact that Bettis was
vulturing away touches and a touchdown can't make "Famous Amos" owners too
happy.
Bench:
Stacey Mack - Again, the Chiefs left the Texans no option except to throw.
Mack only had 39 yards rushing. However, Mack got involved in the passing
game and caused us to miss nailing this prediction.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Garrison Hearst - We did recommend the better of the two San Francisco running backs.
Unfortunately for our prediction, neither did very well.
Olindo Mare - Mare had his chance for a big time game, but he missed FGs of 51 and 44
yards. That lands Mare in this week's busts.
Bench:
Any Detroit RB - Shawn Bryson showed us that there is some life left in the Detroit
backfield. While his total yardage wasn't that impressive, his touchdown makes
him look like a reasonable start this past week.
