Damn. Fred Jackson gets no respect.
I think the usage comparison is apt. At first you want to compare him to BGE, Mendenhall and etc. etc. as the plodder stealing carries from the electric, stud in the making but Asiata has shown to have improved immensely as a pass catcher. He really does have soft hands and is a legitimate threat once he catches that ball and gets some momentum behind him. It's actually his best bet for production, because it bypasses him actually having to work his way through a defensive line into the second level to get that head of steam. In PPR at least, it makes his floor a lot more tolerable.
I'm going to ask this question again. How do people feel about both Asiata and McKinnon, on a short week, traveling to GB? GB is allowing the 4th most points to RBs regardless of format. Lynch ran for 110 and 2 TDs vs. them. All NYJ backs combined for 100+ and a TD; same for DET's backfield. Forte didn't punch one in but him and Kareem combined for 240+ all purpose yards. Short weeks usually lead to more ground work/tired defenses, it really does seem like a plus match-up.
Personally, I think it all comes down to whether or not Teddy plays. Vegas has MIN pegged as 9.5 point dogs and I'm not sure if that's with them operating under the assumption that Teddy doesn't go. For Asiata at least, he needs the team to be able to move down the field because his ceiling is solely dependent on TDs. Also, I agree with the person who said McKinnon actually boosts Asiata's value since McKinnon has the ability to drive the team down the field into the red zone, where as Asiata obviously cannot and will just lead to stalled drives/punts. Anyway, I'm really curious as to how everyone feels about this Thursday.
