LionsFan78
Footballguy
Little blurb I threw together for fun for a league I run. Have at it, use it as a time-filling read, or item for debate. Enjoy
Contenders or Pretenders? Top 5 producers at each position after 3 weeks.
CONTENDER: Will stay firmly in the top 5
PRETENDER: Either a fluke, or a good bet to fall out of the top 5
JURY STILL OUT: Need to see more!
Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady - Absolutely insane the kind of numbers he's putting up. And this is with 3 blowouts. Just imagine once it's 4th and 11, with 4:35 to go in the 4th quarter. He's averaging 30+ points a game, and unlike Palmer and Romo, he didn't even need a near-50 pointer to do it. If he keeps this up, which he will, you're looking at the consensus first QB taken across the board next season in fantasy drafts. CONTENDER
2. Tony Romo - Well, add me to the list of people who benched him against Chicago. This offense took it to one of the best defenses in the NFL, at their home field. He's an every week start right now, regardless of matchups, and is a lock to finish near the top. CONTENDER
3. Carson Palmer - Another lock to finish near the top. Two elite receivers, another great one hopefully coming back mid-season. No reason to think it'll get any worse from here. CONTENDER
4. Jake Delhomme - Hmm, not buying it right now. Can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's his injury 3 weeks into the season, maybe it's David Carr being signed in the off season. If he can stay healthy all year, he's got a chance, because the schedule really doesn't scare me one bit. That, plus the fact that there are at least 4 better QB's that should move ahead of him into the top 5, and I'm gonna have to say...PRETENDER
5. Derek Anderson - Those who rushed to pick him up will disagree, but he won't finish the season as the starter. Unless they win games, and plenty of them. He's playing okay...but don't let the Cincy game fool you. He's not good enough to keep thier first round investment off the field when they're 3-9. PRETENDER
On their heels: Brett Favre, Jon Kitna, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb
Sleeper pick to bust into the top 5 this week: Eli Manning. Wouldn't be shocked at all. He's coming off a great win last week, and playing at home. PHI/NYG is always a great game, and a multi-TD performance from Eli could vault him up the leaderboard...if only for a short time.
Running Backs
1. Brian Westbrook - Looking like one of the best first round picks this year. An absolute stud in PPR leagues, and even before last week's un-godly performance against Detroit, he was just outside of the top ten. CONTENDER
2. Marion Barber - If it looks like a duck....you know the rest. He plays like the #1 in Dallas, gets enough touches, sees all the redzone action you'd like him to. Jones is completely unstartable in all formats, Barber's the guy now. A tad risky outside of PPR leagues, but I don't think the threat of turning in a goose egg is present this year, as it was last year. He should stay towards the top in this offense. CONTENDER
3. LaMont Jordan - We all know the situation. His back's already aggravated, and you-know-who gets back soon. He's a much superior RB to Rhodes, that part doesn't worry me. He'll lose carries, but just take a glance at the schedule the rest of the year. There's some serious defenses in store for Jordan. He'll continue to be the best fantasy back in Oakland as long as he's healthy, but I doubt he'll stay up at the top. PRETENDER
4. Ronnie Brown - My first toss up. I really don't know what to say about Brown. Cameron seemed obsessed with creating a RBBC to start the season. Last week Brown put up some sick numbers for a change, so his outlook is great right now. I'd just like to see more of it first. JURY IS STILL OUT
5. Joseph Addai - Addai's been a blessing for those who passed on some risky selections this year. Even with Keith in the mix, he's still getting 20+ carries. While I think Keith's a must-have handcuff to Addai, I see no reason why Addai will fall any further. He bumps up even further in PPR leagues. CONTENDER
On their heels: Adrian Peterson, Edge, Clinton Portis, LT
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Derrick Ward. He's put up great numbers even with only 1 TD in 3 weeks, and has hovered around the top 10. Coming off a good win for the Giants, this would be a good week for him to put up some great numbers at home, and especially in PPR leagues. That's if Droughns doesn't vulture away the TDs again.
Wide Receivers
1. Randy Moss - Can't say anything about him that hasn't been said already. His stats over 3 blowouts just seem unprecedented. CONTENDER
2. Chad Johnson - What a start. His numbers have made many forget about his slumps last year. I believe Palmer will smash his output from last year, and Johnson will simply have to reap the benefits, even when Henry gets back. CONTENDER
3. Plaxico Burress - Another guy with a phenomonal start to the season. If relatively healthy this year (not missing more than 2-3 games that is), he should be a lock to stay in the top 10. However, there's simply way too many WR's in more prolific offenses that will rise above him. I don't see him lasting in the top 5 for the long haul. PRETENDER
4. Steve Smith - Even with a clunker last week he still stayed at the top. Simple equation...healthy Delhomme = Top 5 season for Smith. If Carr sees action, it'll be risky. If he targets Smith like he did Andre Johnson in Houston, it might be alright. If he throws TD's to him like he did to Andre, not so much. JURY IS STILL OUT
t-5. Terrell Owens - Lock. Not moving outside of the top 5 in this offense. I was actually surprised to see him this "low". CONTENDER
t-5. Kevin Curtis - Don't be fooled. Only a god-like performance against Detroit vaulted him up here. While he may just be the #1 option in Philly, which alone should help keep him firmly in the top 10-15 overall, he'd need a hell of a lot more dominating performances like on Sunday to stay at the top. PRETENDER
t-5. Roy Williams - Just amazing. With 4 solid options in Detroit, he's still managed to post a score in each game so far, and he's definitely not slowing down. I can't imagine Detroit will be blowing many opponents out this year, and in turn grinding out the clock with their running game. Should be plenty more where that came from. CONTENDER
On their heels: Houshmandzadeh, Boldin, Andre Johnson
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Shaun McDonald. Surprised? Not sure why, he's only 16 points outside the top 5 right now. Lions have Chicago this week, and I'm guessing they'll be passing quite a bit, something Tony Romo proved was very possible on Chicago. Plus, there's a good chance they'll be minus one Calvin Johnson, opening the door even further for McDonald. Will he stay in the top 5? Obviously not, but I'm calling it for next week anyway.
Tight Ends
1. Antonio Gates - Lock. Almost unfair how good he is. CONTENDER
2. Jason Witten - That's how it's done. What a great late round TE, and such an important part of that offense. Miami might just be his worst performance all season. CONTENDER
3. Kellen Winslow - In PPR leagues, he's right at the top, and should stay there. He's already on pace to crack 1000 yards. Even if he misses a game or two this year, which has already become likely, he'll do well enough to stay near the top. The only question mark besides health is the QB situation. If I owned him, I'd almost rather Anderson stay the QB at this point, which I doubt will happen. JURY IS STILL OUT
4. Dallas Clark- It's official, he's made the list. Manning has his number this year. CONTENDER
5. Ben Watson - Tough call, but his lack of consistent yardage over the first few weeks is a little suspect. Might be dissapointing if he fails to post a touchdown, which unless you think he'll score 16 this year, is gonna happen. Gauranteed top 10 finish based on their offense this year, but I believe others will rise to the top 5. PRETENDER
On their heels: Heap, Crumpler, Miller, Shockey
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Bubba Franks. 2 touchdowns over 3 weeks now, had a chance at a third last Sunday. Favre's definitely looking for him these days, and Green Bay certainly will be passing the ball on Minnesota.
Kickers
1. Jeff Reed - If the offense keeps this up, they'll be more than good enough to keep him producing. No reason to expect a decline. CONTENDER
2. Matt Stover - I still can't figure out why he's hardly ever one of the first few kickers taken off the board. Next to Vinatieri, he's as close of a lock to finish in the top 10 as there is. CONTENDER
3. Neil Rackers - Good numbers, even with 2 misses so far. Hard to say, I'd like to see some more of the Arizona offense before I pencil him in here. I believe Arizona will falter enough to allow some talented kickers on much better offenses to climb past him. All it takes is one shutout. PRETENDER
4. Nick Folk - Surprise kicker of the year. If Dallas keeps up the pace, no way he finishes outside the top 5. CONTENDER
5. Adam Vinatieri - Money. Along with Gates, he's the most dependable player at his respective position. CONTENDER
On their heels: Akers, Nedney, Graham
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Kris Brown. In what I'd call a favorable matchup with Atlanta, Brown would shoot towards the top with a double digit performance. Given Houston's improvements this year, I wouldn't even be so quick to call it a fluke.
Defense
1. Vikings - No way in hell they keep this pace, but a quick glance at the schedule shows some very favorable matchups down the road. CONTENDER
2. Steelers - So far they're outstanding, and some of those teams that scared me on their schedule towards the end of the season aren't looking so bad anymore. CONTENDER
3. Texans - I was wrong about them. They look damn good. Just take a look at their schedule. Even NO and SD don't look like must-bench matchups anymore. Amazing how things can change. CONTENDER
4. Patriots - They are damn good right now. If your league doesn't penalize for points allowed, I could keep them up at the top. A handful of potential shootouts with talented teams will no doubt give other teams a chance to skip ahead of them. Still, I'll wait till week 7, after seeing how they've handled CIN and DAL before calling them a pretender. JURY IS STILL OUT
5. Bears - Dallas just might have been the most potent offense they'll face the rest of the season. Philly could be bad, but I think there's more than enough here to keep them an elite unit. CONTENDER
On their heels: Titans, Jaguars, Packers
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Seattle. With the exception of a poor showing against Arizona, they've been pretty solid, notably against high-powered Cincinatti. Of all the teams fighting to crack the top 10, I'd say their matchup with San Francisco is the most favorable this week.
Contenders or Pretenders? Top 5 producers at each position after 3 weeks.
CONTENDER: Will stay firmly in the top 5
PRETENDER: Either a fluke, or a good bet to fall out of the top 5
JURY STILL OUT: Need to see more!
Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady - Absolutely insane the kind of numbers he's putting up. And this is with 3 blowouts. Just imagine once it's 4th and 11, with 4:35 to go in the 4th quarter. He's averaging 30+ points a game, and unlike Palmer and Romo, he didn't even need a near-50 pointer to do it. If he keeps this up, which he will, you're looking at the consensus first QB taken across the board next season in fantasy drafts. CONTENDER
2. Tony Romo - Well, add me to the list of people who benched him against Chicago. This offense took it to one of the best defenses in the NFL, at their home field. He's an every week start right now, regardless of matchups, and is a lock to finish near the top. CONTENDER
3. Carson Palmer - Another lock to finish near the top. Two elite receivers, another great one hopefully coming back mid-season. No reason to think it'll get any worse from here. CONTENDER
4. Jake Delhomme - Hmm, not buying it right now. Can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's his injury 3 weeks into the season, maybe it's David Carr being signed in the off season. If he can stay healthy all year, he's got a chance, because the schedule really doesn't scare me one bit. That, plus the fact that there are at least 4 better QB's that should move ahead of him into the top 5, and I'm gonna have to say...PRETENDER
5. Derek Anderson - Those who rushed to pick him up will disagree, but he won't finish the season as the starter. Unless they win games, and plenty of them. He's playing okay...but don't let the Cincy game fool you. He's not good enough to keep thier first round investment off the field when they're 3-9. PRETENDER
On their heels: Brett Favre, Jon Kitna, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb
Sleeper pick to bust into the top 5 this week: Eli Manning. Wouldn't be shocked at all. He's coming off a great win last week, and playing at home. PHI/NYG is always a great game, and a multi-TD performance from Eli could vault him up the leaderboard...if only for a short time.
Running Backs
1. Brian Westbrook - Looking like one of the best first round picks this year. An absolute stud in PPR leagues, and even before last week's un-godly performance against Detroit, he was just outside of the top ten. CONTENDER
2. Marion Barber - If it looks like a duck....you know the rest. He plays like the #1 in Dallas, gets enough touches, sees all the redzone action you'd like him to. Jones is completely unstartable in all formats, Barber's the guy now. A tad risky outside of PPR leagues, but I don't think the threat of turning in a goose egg is present this year, as it was last year. He should stay towards the top in this offense. CONTENDER
3. LaMont Jordan - We all know the situation. His back's already aggravated, and you-know-who gets back soon. He's a much superior RB to Rhodes, that part doesn't worry me. He'll lose carries, but just take a glance at the schedule the rest of the year. There's some serious defenses in store for Jordan. He'll continue to be the best fantasy back in Oakland as long as he's healthy, but I doubt he'll stay up at the top. PRETENDER
4. Ronnie Brown - My first toss up. I really don't know what to say about Brown. Cameron seemed obsessed with creating a RBBC to start the season. Last week Brown put up some sick numbers for a change, so his outlook is great right now. I'd just like to see more of it first. JURY IS STILL OUT
5. Joseph Addai - Addai's been a blessing for those who passed on some risky selections this year. Even with Keith in the mix, he's still getting 20+ carries. While I think Keith's a must-have handcuff to Addai, I see no reason why Addai will fall any further. He bumps up even further in PPR leagues. CONTENDER
On their heels: Adrian Peterson, Edge, Clinton Portis, LT
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Derrick Ward. He's put up great numbers even with only 1 TD in 3 weeks, and has hovered around the top 10. Coming off a good win for the Giants, this would be a good week for him to put up some great numbers at home, and especially in PPR leagues. That's if Droughns doesn't vulture away the TDs again.
Wide Receivers
1. Randy Moss - Can't say anything about him that hasn't been said already. His stats over 3 blowouts just seem unprecedented. CONTENDER
2. Chad Johnson - What a start. His numbers have made many forget about his slumps last year. I believe Palmer will smash his output from last year, and Johnson will simply have to reap the benefits, even when Henry gets back. CONTENDER
3. Plaxico Burress - Another guy with a phenomonal start to the season. If relatively healthy this year (not missing more than 2-3 games that is), he should be a lock to stay in the top 10. However, there's simply way too many WR's in more prolific offenses that will rise above him. I don't see him lasting in the top 5 for the long haul. PRETENDER
4. Steve Smith - Even with a clunker last week he still stayed at the top. Simple equation...healthy Delhomme = Top 5 season for Smith. If Carr sees action, it'll be risky. If he targets Smith like he did Andre Johnson in Houston, it might be alright. If he throws TD's to him like he did to Andre, not so much. JURY IS STILL OUT
t-5. Terrell Owens - Lock. Not moving outside of the top 5 in this offense. I was actually surprised to see him this "low". CONTENDER
t-5. Kevin Curtis - Don't be fooled. Only a god-like performance against Detroit vaulted him up here. While he may just be the #1 option in Philly, which alone should help keep him firmly in the top 10-15 overall, he'd need a hell of a lot more dominating performances like on Sunday to stay at the top. PRETENDER
t-5. Roy Williams - Just amazing. With 4 solid options in Detroit, he's still managed to post a score in each game so far, and he's definitely not slowing down. I can't imagine Detroit will be blowing many opponents out this year, and in turn grinding out the clock with their running game. Should be plenty more where that came from. CONTENDER
On their heels: Houshmandzadeh, Boldin, Andre Johnson
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Shaun McDonald. Surprised? Not sure why, he's only 16 points outside the top 5 right now. Lions have Chicago this week, and I'm guessing they'll be passing quite a bit, something Tony Romo proved was very possible on Chicago. Plus, there's a good chance they'll be minus one Calvin Johnson, opening the door even further for McDonald. Will he stay in the top 5? Obviously not, but I'm calling it for next week anyway.
Tight Ends
1. Antonio Gates - Lock. Almost unfair how good he is. CONTENDER
2. Jason Witten - That's how it's done. What a great late round TE, and such an important part of that offense. Miami might just be his worst performance all season. CONTENDER
3. Kellen Winslow - In PPR leagues, he's right at the top, and should stay there. He's already on pace to crack 1000 yards. Even if he misses a game or two this year, which has already become likely, he'll do well enough to stay near the top. The only question mark besides health is the QB situation. If I owned him, I'd almost rather Anderson stay the QB at this point, which I doubt will happen. JURY IS STILL OUT
4. Dallas Clark- It's official, he's made the list. Manning has his number this year. CONTENDER
5. Ben Watson - Tough call, but his lack of consistent yardage over the first few weeks is a little suspect. Might be dissapointing if he fails to post a touchdown, which unless you think he'll score 16 this year, is gonna happen. Gauranteed top 10 finish based on their offense this year, but I believe others will rise to the top 5. PRETENDER
On their heels: Heap, Crumpler, Miller, Shockey
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Bubba Franks. 2 touchdowns over 3 weeks now, had a chance at a third last Sunday. Favre's definitely looking for him these days, and Green Bay certainly will be passing the ball on Minnesota.
Kickers
1. Jeff Reed - If the offense keeps this up, they'll be more than good enough to keep him producing. No reason to expect a decline. CONTENDER
2. Matt Stover - I still can't figure out why he's hardly ever one of the first few kickers taken off the board. Next to Vinatieri, he's as close of a lock to finish in the top 10 as there is. CONTENDER
3. Neil Rackers - Good numbers, even with 2 misses so far. Hard to say, I'd like to see some more of the Arizona offense before I pencil him in here. I believe Arizona will falter enough to allow some talented kickers on much better offenses to climb past him. All it takes is one shutout. PRETENDER
4. Nick Folk - Surprise kicker of the year. If Dallas keeps up the pace, no way he finishes outside the top 5. CONTENDER
5. Adam Vinatieri - Money. Along with Gates, he's the most dependable player at his respective position. CONTENDER
On their heels: Akers, Nedney, Graham
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Kris Brown. In what I'd call a favorable matchup with Atlanta, Brown would shoot towards the top with a double digit performance. Given Houston's improvements this year, I wouldn't even be so quick to call it a fluke.
Defense
1. Vikings - No way in hell they keep this pace, but a quick glance at the schedule shows some very favorable matchups down the road. CONTENDER
2. Steelers - So far they're outstanding, and some of those teams that scared me on their schedule towards the end of the season aren't looking so bad anymore. CONTENDER
3. Texans - I was wrong about them. They look damn good. Just take a look at their schedule. Even NO and SD don't look like must-bench matchups anymore. Amazing how things can change. CONTENDER
4. Patriots - They are damn good right now. If your league doesn't penalize for points allowed, I could keep them up at the top. A handful of potential shootouts with talented teams will no doubt give other teams a chance to skip ahead of them. Still, I'll wait till week 7, after seeing how they've handled CIN and DAL before calling them a pretender. JURY IS STILL OUT
5. Bears - Dallas just might have been the most potent offense they'll face the rest of the season. Philly could be bad, but I think there's more than enough here to keep them an elite unit. CONTENDER
On their heels: Titans, Jaguars, Packers
Sleeper pick to bust into the Top 5 this week: Seattle. With the exception of a poor showing against Arizona, they've been pretty solid, notably against high-powered Cincinatti. Of all the teams fighting to crack the top 10, I'd say their matchup with San Francisco is the most favorable this week.
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