FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 8
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
October 30, 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. Let's
not beat around the bush. We had a pretty solid week 8, so we will bask in
the glow of a good week before we buckle in for a challenging week 9. 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:
Lee Evans, WR, BUF – We told you to go back to the wildly underperforming Evans in week 8. Evans didn’t disappoint thanks to a 138 yard performance that was highlighted by an 85 yard TD reception. Big plays like that are huge in long TD bonus leagues because you won’t see many TDs longer than 85 yards.
Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG – The sloppy and muddy track in London was perfect for this big bruiser. Jacobs took advantage of these conditions and the Miami run defense as he piled up 137 total yards of offense. It is a shame that he couldn’t get a score for his owners, but this was still a great start.
Donovan McNabb, QB, PHI – McNabb has been very unpredictable this season, but he managed to produce one heck of a game for our start call in week 8. McNabb threw for 333 yards, rushed for 13 yards, and threw a TD pass. McNabb had no turnovers and he won the game. Not a bad days work for the Eagles and fantasy teams around the world.
Santonio Holmes, WR, PIT – Holmes had 89 total yards and 6 receptions that made him a very good start in point per reception leagues. Hines Ward did take all the TDs, but Holmes still had a good day against the Bengals.
LenDale White, RB, TEN – We thought that the inertia of White was already rolling down hill and once something as massive as White is in motion, you had better get out of the way. White did deliver with his best yards of the season. White had 133 yards rushing and another 8 in the air. This was an out standing game from an improving player.
Mark Bulger, QB, STL – Bulger had a terrible week 7, but we felt like he would rebound in week 8. He did get knocked out of this game for a while, but he still managed a good game with 310 yards passing, 1 INT, and 1 TD pass. Bulger has been an iffy proposition, like many of the Rams, but he produced in week 8.
Derek Anderson, QB, CLE – We suspected that the Browns offense would have a big game and that Anderson would be the one orchestrating that game. Anderson had a great game with no turnovers, 248 yards passing and 3 TD passes. Anderson made some great throws on those TDs. Right now he looks as good as any QB in the league not named Brady.
Willie Parker, RB, PIT – We picked a great week to start Parker as he had his first TD since week 2 and 134 total yards of offense. This was a welcome sight for TD deprived Parker owners. The best news about this TD was that it came from 1 yard out.
Bench:
Donald Driver, WR, GB – Driver missed out on all of the long ball fun and he only had 28 yards. He was a great bench call week 8.
Marty Booker, WR, MIA – Chambers left town and Booker become the default number 1 WR in Miami. Booker did get 31 yards, but he also fumbled making him a fantastic guy to have on your bench in week 8.
Dominic Rhodes, RB, OAK – Rhodes only had return yards on Sunday and that doesn’t count for much in most leagues. In week 8, it was Justin Fargas who had the best stats in the Oakland backfield.
Ike Hilliard, WR, TB – Hilliard looked great in week 7 with 92 yards and a TD reception. In fact, Hilliard had started to look like a possible option for temas out there in a bind. However, Hilliards managed to post his worst game of the season with only 6 yards rushing and 23 receiving. Yikes! We hope he was on your pine.
Jacksonville Starting QB – Quinn Gray ended up being the starter in Jacksonville. We hope that you benched this QB. He did have a TD pass, but he only had 100 yards passing to go with that TD. You probably could have found a better QB in week 8.
Reggie Williams, WR, JAX – No one in Jacksonville wants to step up and make plays in the receiving corps. Williams continued that trend with a poor performance that didn’t break 20 yards.
Ahman Green, RB, HOU – Green was listed as probable, but he ended up being a late week scratch. Hopefully, you didn’t start him. For what it's worth, none of the Texans' backs had a decent game.
Sammy Morris, RB, NE – Morris did not play even though his owners could really use him back in action.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
None this week
Bench:
Brandon Marshall, WR, DEN – Marshall was a so-so bench call. He only had 3 receptions, but his total yards were so-so.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Brian Griese, QB, CHI – Griese did have 208 and a TD pass, but he threw 4 FREAKING interceptions. Well, that pretty much shot our start call all to heck. Despite throwing for over 300 yards in his previous two starts and facing a pathetic Detroit secdonary this week, Griese managed to mess everything up and was a huge bust for us in week 8.
Bench:
Kenny Watson, RB, CIN – Watson was coming off some positive momentum heading into week 8, but we told you that the Steelers would not be a team that he could continue his roll against. Watson did break 100 total yards (first RB to do this against PIT in a long, long time) and he had 5 receptions. That is just a little too much fantasy production to make him anything other than a bust in week 8.
