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Week 3 was a wild one.   Many players that should have had great weeks didn’t while others came from no where to have games that will likely be their season highs.   Needless to say, many fantasy teams got burned this past week by “reliable” starters.   Join us for the bench / start wrap up as we take credit for our good calls and own up to our mistakes.

Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Rod Smith – After a poor performance week 2, Smith bounced back with a solid performance week 3.   5 receptions for 75 yards and a TD is a very respectable week out of the veteran WR.   If you own Smith you can expect a solid season out of this fantasy player.

Tony Gonzalez – Gonzalez was so bad weeks 1 and 2 we were afraid that a few teams out there might have given benching Gonzalez a tough.   We warned against this and told you that this perennial titan of the tight ends would get back on his game.   He did with 8 receptions for 106 yards and a TD.   That is a fantastic game for a TE and it is exactly what fantasy owners were hoping for when they drafted Gonzalez.

Raiders Defense – Looking at this game last week, we saw the writing on the wall.   The Raiders’ D came through on our prediction with a solid effort.   They kept the score pretty low, had an interception for a TD and two sacks.

Roy Williams - This super rookie had another great game.   With 13 receptions for 208 and 4 TDs over the past two weeks, Williams is smoking hot and should continue to be a solid fantasy starter.

Bench:
Michael Clayton – As predicted, Clayton had a tough time making plays against the Raiders secondary.

Carson Palmer – While Palmer’s yardage was impressive, his 4 turnovers and zero TDs was pretty ugly.   Most fantasy teams were more than happy to leave Palmer on the pine this week.

Plaxico Burress – Burress’ 2 catches weren’t enough to warrant starting in point per reception leagues.

Emmitt Smith – 45 yards rushing and 11 receiving is a pretty sad week from a fantasy running back.


Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Brian Westbrook – Westbrook continues to rack in the yardage, but the main benefactor from Buckhalter’s injury continues to be McNabb.   In points per reception leagues, Westbrook’s 7 were welcome, but most fantasy teams would have like to have seen a TD for this speedster.

Larry Fitzgerald – Fitz had enough receptions to post a mediocre day.   He wasn’t able to pull down a pass thrown to him in the end zone, so that kept him from having a break out game versus the Falcons surprisingly tough defense.

Bench:
Ronald Curry – Curry’s 1 recption for 19 yards would have made him a great bench call had he not taken that catch to the house!   Thanks to that, Curry would have been a serviceable start and that places him squarely in our so-so fantasy calls of the week.

Reche Caldwell – Look out, the Chargers may have a #1 WR in Caldwell.   He didn’t have huge numbers, but he did catch the ball 6 times.   Those catches added to his yards make him a poor so-so call for week 3.

Eddie George – Eddie didn’t have much in the way of yardage, but his TD made him a reasonable start week 3.


Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Quentin Griffin – Ahem!   Well, raise your hand if you saw this one coming?   This was one of the two weirdest things that happened this weekend.   We can’t believe that “Q” struggled so much against the Chargers of all people.   If you own Griffin, you had better grab Tatum Bell now.   If you own Bell, hang on to him and see how this situation develops.

Domanick Davis – This was the other weirdest thing we saw this weekend.   The Chiefs had basically allowed Foster and Griffin to stomp all over them in the running game.   Now this week (to all the D. Davis owners dismay), the Chiefs put the smack down on Davis.   We were selling this start this past week, but we were also buying it.   If you got burned by this player, you weren’t alone.

Michael Vick – Vick had a great run that will make all of the highlights and he guided his team to a 3-0 start.   That is great for the Falcons and their fans.   However, he dropped the ball for his fantasy owners.   Actually, he turned the ball over three times versus Arizona.   This killed Vick’s week and made him a busted call for a start in week 3.

Bench:
Duce Staley – This is marginal, but Staley managed to rack up 101 yards rushing in all of that muck in Miami over the weekend.   He actually would have been a nice start.   He sure fooled us in week 3.