FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 4
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
October 2, 2007
Welcome to our weekly look back at our Bench / Start calls. Each week
we hold ourselves accountable for our good and bad recommendations. It
is easy to make predictions, but it is tough to stand behind them. Week 4 had
some big performances and some even bigger injuries that will be felt for weeks. We hope
some of these calls helped you win a game or two this weekend. Without
further ado, let’s get to the weekly fantasy football Bench / Start Wrap-up.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT – Roethlisberger had a great game with 244 yards, 2 TDs, and an additional 26 yards rushing on the ground. It would have been nice if he wouldn’t have thrown 2 INTs, but he still posted a solid fantasy game.
Willis McGahee, RB, BAL – McGahee was very efficient and very effective on Sunday. McGahee only had 14 rushes, but he had 104 yards rushing. He also had 2 receptions, but he got 32 yards with those 2 receptions. This was a very solid effort. However, you have to wonder why the Ravens don’t get him the ball even more when he continues to run so effectively.
Bernard Berrian, WR, CHI – In non-point per reception leagues, Berrian had a great game with 99 yards receiving. In point per reception leagues, you were loving his 8 receptions. Either way, it was a good
fantasy start for the Brian Griese era.
Derrick Mason, WR, BAL – We told you to really go after Mason in point per reception leagues and Mason delivered with an amazing 10 receptions for 78 yards. We would have loved to have seen a TD mixed in there, but this was still a good fantasy performance.
Owen Daniels, TE, HOU – As we predicted, Daniels was a huge part of the Texans passing attack. Daniels hauled in an impressive 5 receptions for 69 yards. Those are great numbers for a TE in any scoring system.
Brian Griese, QB, CHI – Despite the fact that Griese didn’t look all that great in
real football, he looked pretty good in fantasy. Griese had 286 yards passing for 2 TDs. He even managed to get 8 yards rushing. The bad news is that the Bears lost the game and Griese threw 3 INTs. We don’t know how much we like Griese in the long term, but he did produce this weekend (from a fantasy perspective anyway).
Bench:
Marvin Harrison, WR, IND – It is a bold move anytime you recommend putting a Colt WR on the bench, but we called out Mr. Harrison this week and we were correct. Harrison only had 1 catch for 8 yards. Yikes! P.S. If you can find a disgruntled Harrison owner out there, you should try to make a move for Harrison now while his stock is low.
Reuben Droughns, RB, NYG – Droughns had a huge week 3 game, but we told you he wouldn’t see anything nearly as impressive as those 2 TDs in week 4. Droughns helped make our bench prediction a success by only gaining 8 yards on 5 carries. That is a pretty sad day’s work for any running back.
Brandon Jackson, RB, GB – Jackson ended up being a late game scratch and he didn’t play. However, none of the Green Bay RBs had good days. Vernand Morency was the top performer and he only had 35 total yards of offense.
Vincent Jackson, WR, SD – Jackson ended up being a good bench because he couldn’t managed to hold onto some great passes that could have netted him a big day. In the end, Jackson only caught 3 balls for 52 yards. You could have found better production elsewhere.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Brian Leonard, RB, STL – Leonard ended up being a so-so start with 59 total yards of offense and 1 reception. He got plenty of touches, but the whole Rams team was pretty ugly on Sunday.
LaMont Jordan, RB, OAK – Jordan ended up being so-so by the slimmest of margins. He had 81 yards of total offense. He did that in about 1 half of football. After that, he got hurt and his back-up, Justin Fargas, had a big day. We knew that the Dolphins were ready to be run and the Raiders set a team record with 299 yards rushing against them.
Bench:
St. Louis Defense – The Rams were headed for a great bench start because they allowed 35 points and only had 1 turnover with only 1 sack. However, Daunte Hall, the self-proclaimed X-factor, ran a punt back for a TD. That was just enough to make our bench call a so-so bench call.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Kevin Curtis, WR, PHI – We need to talk about this. First, Curtis was a bad start mainly because the Giants defensive line was in the backfield with McNabb all night long. McNabb is starting to make us very, very concerned. The Eagles looked terrible and we aren’t so certain that McNabb will be back in our lineups after his bye week. He may need to prove more to us before he deserves a start again. Curtis is a “playing with fire” WR from here on out. You can bet that he will still have some big games, but you may never know where they will be coming from.
Houston Texans Defense – The Falcons rose up and smacked the Texans in the face. This just goes to show you that any NFL team can win any week. The Texans did block a field goal, but they only had 2 sacks and no turnovers. This was a surprising performance from the Falcons.
Bench:
Edgerrin James, RB, ARI – Kudos to the Cardinals for a great win. James didn’t break 100 yards, but he did score. James has been a solid fantasy back this season and he proved us wrong by posting solid numbers against a very good run defense.
Jamal Lewis, RB, CLE – Lewis only had 64 yards rushing, but he did get credit for a TD. We say that he got credit for a TD because he didn’t score on the play that he was credited with a TD. The challenge flag was thrown out too late and the PAT went up. Lewis wins this round, but we are still not on his bandwagon.
Earnest Graham, RB, TB – Graham busted up our bench call by scoring as TD. His yardage numbers were pretty paltry, but those TDs will kill your bench call every time.
