Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Here is a link to last week's thread for anyone that missed it. Week 2
So far the RB, have had fairly low scoring. We have seen little multiple TD days and almost none from the top tier RB drafted early in redrafts this season. This can happen early in the season and I would expect scoring to pick up when the weather cools down a bit.
Again I urge you to take caution when looking at what has happened so far. Look at the competition for some of these teams before you crown them as world beaters on offense and defense. And understand that sometimes no matter how good the match up is you are going to roll snake eyes sometimes.
Let’s jump into week 3!
Arizona at Baltimore
The Cards are giving up 92 yds a game and 4 yds a carry. Sort of a neutral feel on their defense. It’s not the worst in the NFL by far but if a team really wanted to press the issue they might have some good success as well. The Birds have allowed 3 TD so far on the ground.
The Ravens, surprise surprise, are only allowing 2.5 yds a carry and 62 yds a game…stingy stingy stingy…ZERO TD surrendered.
Edgerrin James: As nice a surprise as he has been, this is not the week to take the plunge with EJ. The Ravens are just too tough and Edge will likely be bottled up for most of the day. He’s not lighting it up OOTB either so I don’t see James a strong play at all this week.
Willis McGahee: Has not scored a rushing TD yet but had a nice game last week against the Jets, avg 22.5 carries a game so far…he is getting plenty of touches. Does have 1 receiving TD. Pretty solid play this week. Has been a borderline RB1 so far this season so if he is your RB2, plug him in.
Buffalo at New England
The Bills are giving up 5.5 yds a carry and 177 yds rushing a game. WOW! That’s downright awful.
The Pats on the other hand…2.9 and 56 yds allowed a week right now. And just shut down LT this past Sunday Night.
Marshawn Lynch: He certainly is running hard and perhaps on other teams he would have an even bigger splash his first couple of weeks…but the Bills are not getting anything done in the passing game. This is putting a lot of pressure on the ground game. The guy has been avg about 90 yds and .5TD a week so far. I expect a drop in production because of the match up…if you can live with 75 total yds and perhaps nothing in the TD department then go for it.
Laurence Maroney: One of the hardest RB to figure out right now…or maybe we just don’t want to face facts. He is avg about 4 yds a carry right now and has ZERO receptions…he is a non factor in the passing game so basically he is one dimensional. If you have an owner that is hot for this guy, I would dump him and take what you can get. He is going to have some 100 yd/1TD games but he is going to have some 75 yds and nothing games, those hurt you. Buffalo is not stopping anyone right now so this might be one of his better weeks, but with no factor in the passing game his yardage totals have to be lowered to somewhere in the 1,200-1,300 range for the season likely. If he has a good game against a soft defense this week, maybe you can move him.
Sammy Morris: I talked about him as a WW pick up last week. The cat is out of the bag, he now is higher than Maroney for production on the season with 7 less carries a game too. I would not be starting Morris but when bye weeks roll around he might be a decent Flex2 option.
Detroit at Philadelphia
Detroit is giving up 3.8 yds a carry and 107 a game on the ground…teams are definitely trying to use ball control and keep their offense off the field as much as possible. The Vikes almost got that done last week until TJax turned into Robin Hood for them.
Philly is also playing well allowing only 3.5 ypc, and 88 on the ground.
Tatum Bell: Only as a flex in PPR leagues would I even remotely consider him right now. He was awful last week and the running game for Detroit is a total joke right now. They actually can run the ball a bit but they don’t even try…one of the lowest attempts in the NFL…not sure what that means for Kevin Jones when he comes back.
Kevin Jones: They are saying he is scheduled to start playing as soon as this weekend. I would take a wait and see approach for this. Detroit is about their 4 WR sets right now, not running anyone up between the Tackles…sorry.
Brian Westbrook: Like a lot of the elite RB, he has been sort of ho hum so far. Actually almost 300 yds and 14 catches so far is pretty darn impressive but he isn’t scoring TDs and in non PPR leagues he is running outside the top10…go figure. As long as he is healthy, Westy is almost an automatic start. The entire Eagles team is sort of down in the dumps right now, when McNabb snaps out of it, I think Westy will see his TDs take off.
Indy at Houston
Colts are giving up 4.1 ypc and 123 a game on the ground. Not that great but with their offense it isn’t the end of the world either.
Houston is giving up 3.9 ypc and only 69 yds a game. It would appear that teams might be able to run on them if they would stick with it.
Joseph Addai: Avg about 115 total yds and a TD each week. Things are looking great for owners so far. Top5 for the moment. I look for Houston who will be having their own challenges scoring to fall behind and this will allow for plenty of runs by Joseph Addai. No reason to think he can’t keep up the pace. Houston is not a pushover by any means but they haven’t faced an offense with as many weapons as the Colts yet.
Ahman Green: Heard he might have strained something this past Sunday. I would simply look at the injury report but with Andre Johnson out I would think Green will do everything he can to be on the field and stay out there. Assuming he plays I would expect him to have a few more catches. So far he is ranking at about 19…middle of the pack in non PPR leagues for RB2…I expect RB1 numbers from him this weekend.
Ron Dayne: Will be involved this weekend. I expect Houston to try and run as much as they can to try and control the clock. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dayne has another 10+ carries this weekend.
Miami at NYJets
The Phins are giving up 4.6 ypc and over 170+ yds a game…just awful.
The Jets are only yielding 3.5 ypc…but teams are trying to run on them anyways as they are giving up 126 yds a game.
Ronnie Brown: Worst of the early picks so far. Guy is avg about 35-40 yds on the ground. Plain and simple, Miami’ OL is horrible up the middle and they cannot block. How will that magically get better. The Giants were able to run Dallas but the Phins were not…Philly was able to gash some holes on the Skins, but the Phins were not…they are terrible right now and I don’t see how they are going to get better. Ronnie Brown is a bench player for right now.
I said all that to set this up. The Miami/New York game has the potential for fireworks. The Jets secondary is terrible and even the vertically challenged Miami offense might be able to put up some points or complete some long balls and that would set up some short scores for Brown. So I actually think there is a silver lining for owners this weekend. Miami has a crummy defense right now too so maybe we will be treated to a 31-28 shootout of sorts.
Thomas Jones: Should be a good week to start him. The Phins are ripe for opposing RB right now. Portis scored, Barber scored twice…Jones should have a very healthy day on Sunday.
Leon Washington: Didn’t touch the ball at all last weekend. No reason he shouldn’t be a lot more involved this weekend.
Minnesota at Kansas City
The skinny is the Vikings are only allowing 3.1 ypc but a lot of people might be surprised that KC is only allowing 3.6 ypc. KC has faced Ahman Green and Cedric Benson…draw your own conclusions from that. On paper it would appear that LJ is going to get stuffed again and that ADP might have some problems finding running room as well. But these types of games can go the other way.
Both teams are suffering from poor QB play especially the Vikes where they tossed 4 interceptions last weekend. If there are a lot of turnovers in this game, it might mean some cheap points for both sides.
Adrian Peterson: Start him for sure. He had about 100 yds last week with his 4 catches. He seems to be able to strike form anywhere on the filed, that’s a nice dual threat. Even if Taylor is fully healthy, Peterson is going to get 15-20 touches a game it appears.
Chester Taylor: Watch the injury report but I wouldn’t start him even if he is healthy. I want to see the splits with ADP before I would go and insert him into a starting line up.
Mewelde Moore: Remains a person of interest…
Larry Johnson: He has 10 catches so far…10! Those are the same as Reggie Bush’s catch total. I think he will surprise some people at home this week. I think this might be the Chiefs’ 1st home game of the season…that stadium despite their record is going to be rockin, I expect LJ to get his on Sunday. I benched him in one of my leagues last weekend but at home this week, I think you stand behind your man here.
San Diego at Green Bay
The Chargers are in shock still from the #####slap they received at the hands of the Patriots. They don’t look good right now on offense. I understand they have faced some stiff defenses but look what New England did to their vaunted defense…so it can’t just be the fact they played the Bears and Pats.
Green Bay is a surprising 2-0 right now. They were able to defeat Philly via special teams play and they throttled the Giants by 22 in the Meadowlands last week. Here is the dirty stat of the week on the Pack though…less than 100 yds a game they are giving up on the ground, but 4.4 ypc…if Norv Turner will get his head out of his (fill in the blank), then LT could have a field day this weekend in Green Bay.
LT: Just feed him the ball Norv. He has 11 receptions but pretty low yds, and currently has a 1.9 ypc avg. There is no way you can sit him on your bench, in fact he was pretty good in week 1, had a lousy game last week. Just run the ball Norv!
Brandon Jackson: Things can change quickly and it looks like BJ is starting to lose some support in Green Bay. He looks very tentative at hitting the hole and where he had a chance to seize control of the backfield, it now appears that he may be in a RBBC for the time being. Things could change again as he is a rookie, and next week we might be talking about how great he looks. But for right now he is a shaky start and I don’t see how he will tear it up on San Diego. The Bolts got beat badly last week but they are still very talented in their front 7 and should be able to clamp down on the packers’ run game.
DeShawn Wynn: If he is available on your WW, might be a good idea to find a spot for him. He had 2 TD last week including a 35 yd rip. I’m not sold on him yet and he might have just had his most production that he is going to have for the season. Either way he is not a strong play this week against the Bolts.
San Fran at Pittsburgh: A battle of 2-0 teams, this should be a good game.
The Niners are only giving up 3.6 ypc. And they are pretty stingy against the pass. And they are starting off the season 2-0 on narrow victories over AZ and St.L, but the fact is they couldn’t win those games the past couple of seasons. And their offense has been pretty lousy in NFL terms so maybe the fact they are winning the close games, means when they actually put forth a little more effort on offense they can be even better than what they are showing. Plain and simple, Alex Smith and the passing game has stunk so far, thus putting a lot of pressure on the ground game.
The Steelers are giving up about 75 yds a game on the ground which is terrific, however they are almost yielding 3.9 ypc so I am eager to see a team that run the football like San Fran…I think Pittsburgh has beat up on Cleveland and Buffalo and we still don’t know what they are truly made of this season. Sunday will be a much better gauge me thinks.
Frank Gore: 150 total yds and 3 TD in his 1st 2 games. Good for #6 on the FBG YTD stats list…looks like Gore is living up to expectations and I don’t even think we have seen one of his better games yet. Will be tough against Pittsburgh but I expect him to play well on Sunday and the Niners to lean on him as they have all season so far.
FWP: He is going to have a tougher time this week than he has against Cle and Buff. He is always a threat to go off but I expect him to have somewhat pedestrian numbers this Sunday. He has 50 carries so far this season. Only Edge has as many…FWP is a very strong part of the Pittsburgh attack. If you happen to have an owner who is seeing those passing stat for Big Ben and is thinking FWP will not live up to expectations…trade FOR him. Parker is going to have a big season even if he has a mild day Sunday.
St Louis at Tampa Bay
The Rams are thought to have a poor defense but their rush defense is no worse than about average to just below average with a 4.2 ypc. They can certainly be run on but they are not the worst in the league. The Rams are staring down the barrel of and 0-3 start. They squandered a chance to start off strong with back to back weeks at home.
The Bucs are giving up a very average 4.0 ypc, they can be run on as well although last week they did a great job against New Orleans and showed a lot of heart. This game should be very close and for Bucs fans very interesting.
Steven Jackson: I knew he wasn’t going to be the #2 RB in FF but I never imagined him being #28 after the 1st 2 weeks of the season either. He has to snap out of it soon doesn’t he? I know when Pace went out last year the team did alright but that doesn’t mean you are going to every time a potential HoF Left Tackle is out for the season…not good. I think Jackson owners are stuck for the moment. I am not reallt encouraging owners to go buy low on Jackson either…why do you need that type of grief right now. In my leagues the SJax owners are piling up losses…if they don’t make the playoffs that is just one less stud RB we all have to worry about so let them all rot as far I am concerned. The Bucs are going to gameplan to bottle up Jackson, could be another brutal Sunday for owners in the Shark Pool this weekend.
Cadillac Williams: Surprised a lot of people by scoring twice last Sunday. Those TDs are what has made his season so far. He has 36 carries for 120+ yds so he really isn’t avg a lot on the ground and only 2 catches but he had those touchdowns to balance it out. I still am leery of Cadillac but as an RB2 he is giving you what you want. Who couldn’t live with a 2 TD performance from their RB2 once every 2-3 weeks…I doubt that will continue though. I think the Bucs are simply better at home as a lot of teams are, Caddy is at the C.I.T.S. this week so play him. Someone sent me a PM asking what the C.I.T.S. is and that stands for the Community Investment Tax Stadium…the Glazers would have us call it Raymond James but I prefer what the late Chris Thomas in Tampa used to call it since the kind folks in Hillsborough County paid for it.
Cincinnati at Seattle: Everyone is expecting fireworks after last weekend. I am always of the thinking that when a team is really taken to the woodshed the way Cinci was that the next week they do the opposite of what transpired the week before. but that might be more relevant to the passing game which I will talk about later in the week. Cinci has not stopped anyone yet on the ground, and they got torched for 200+ yds from Jamal Lewis last week.
Rudi Johnson: Might have a little tougher time on the Seadogs this weekend. James was pretty good against them last week and Caddy did have 12/60 in week 1 before he got injured. I have to think Johnson is at least a decent play this week but teams don't rack up huge totals in Seattle that often. it's loud, the place is a total madhouse...maybe Cinci will slow it down a bit and lean on Rudi more. They need some longer drives in order to win games.
Shaun Alexander: After McGahee was pretty alright and Lewis torched them, you have to think Shaun will be up for about 120 and a TD opp at some point. Why would Seattle want to score quickly and put Palmer and crew back out there...they want long drives that eat up the clock and give their defense plenty of rest to keep up with the Nati...I am sure Shaun owners are going to be expecting a big week on Sunday.
Cleveland at Oakland
Jamal Lewis: Should be starting for you. I talked before the seaosn how nice Joe Thomas and Eric Steinabahc would be for that OL, the Center is solid too. They can run behind the left side of that line and this is precisely where he tore off a 60+ yarder last week. He was running away form defenders so his speed is not a question. Oakland is not terrible but Henry and even Tatum Bell have had success...I say you got to continue to ride Lewis and see what happens. In 2000 he had back to back games of 180/170 on the ground...In '02 he followed up 180 with 120/2 the next week...In '03 he had a monster year and 12 games with over 100 yds...In '04 he had 186 followed up with 70/1...'05 and '06 were not very productive for Lewis, it appears he might be getting back on track in Cleveland and owners should not sleep on Lewis.
LaMont Jordan: Owners have to be loving his production so far. No reason to bench him this week. Ride the gravy train for another 2 weeks...and even then I am not sure Rhodes will make a huge dent in his production.
Jacksonville at Denver
The Jags only allowed about 80 yds to the Falcons last week. They are giving up 4.9 ypc but the average has been thrown way off by the week 1 game. I expect them to play better the rest of the way although their offense flat out sucks!
Denver is giving up over 5 ypc. They are not stopping the run too well.
Fred Taylor: Until we see some continuity on this offense I wouldn’t be playing a Jag right now. I can see that Denver is allowing a lot on the ground right now but I just wouldn’t be banking on the Jags much. Don’t try and show you are msarter than everyone this week by playing the 49th ranked RB in FF right now…no reason to risk it.
MJD: He is #43 right now. I think MJD is a better play because of his potential, key word, potential for catching passes but that hasn’t really happened to this point. In deep leagues and as a flex option I might look at MJD…but other WR3/4 might be better options at that flex for right now.
Travis Henry: Henry leads the league in rushing yds this season. Still he is only good for #8 right now because he isn’t scoring TDs. He will at some point start popping them in so just keep plugging him in, he is living up to his draft slot for the moment even without the TDs, so things can actually get better here.
Carolina at Atlanta
The Panthers are giving up 3.4 ypc right now.
The Falcons are allowing 4.1 ypc.
DeShaun Foster: He just cannot string consecutive games together as one poster said last week. I don’t know why but he has a decent game then he plays like crap the next week. He is part of an RBBC right now and anyone that knows when he is going to have a great game please post it cause I’d like to know. Just too up and down right now. On paper he should do fine this week but that doesn’t mean jackcrap when it comes to Foster and the Panthers for that matter. Jump to a 14-0 lead last week and then what happened? Where was the running game?
DeAngelo Williams: Not reliable enough to put out there for now.
Warrick Dunn: A borderline RB2, better as an RB3 or flex option. He is #23 on the charts for the season. Been a little more active in the passing game but overall the Falcons are not playing well. They did sign Lord Byron yesterday so I look for them at some point to start Lefty and then I think this offense will have a chance to actually do something with a decent passing attack.
Jerious Norwood: #44 right now on YTD stats…just not the starter right now. Hopefully you didn’t draft him too high and you can just tuck him away for a rainy day later this year. There are actually owners out there I am sure that have both Norwood and MJD on their rosters...OUCH!
NY Giants at Washington
The Giants believe it or not are only giving up 3.8 ypc. However they are also giving up an avg of 2 TD a week, and that is because they stink so bad against the pass that offenses get short fields to punch in those rushing TD.
The Skins are giving up 4.5 ypc but only 90 yds a game. In tight games against Miami and Philly till late, why are teams not testing their rush defense more?
Derrick Ward: Probably a good start this week. The Giants are like a wounded dog in the corner right now, maybe they just need to go out and pound the ball on someone. The Skins don’t have great interior defensive tackles so why not ram it right at them?
Clinton Portis: Giving about 80 yds and a score a week right now. He played very little in the pre season and I expect him to get more and more touches as the season wears on. Nothing shows a reason not play him right now. He is #12 and most folks took him as an RB2 which he is filling very nicely.
Ladell Betts: He is not the starter, barring injury he is not playable.
Dallas at Chicago
The Cowboys are allowing 4.3 ypc, 92 yds a game on the ground. Teams are running the ball on them enough…it’s hard when you are down 10-20 points but they are not juggernauts on defense. They just signed Tank Johnson…could pay off later in the season for them.
Chicago is giving up 2.5 ypc! Harris and Urlacher do not allow for much room up the gut.
Marion Barber III: I play him, sure why not? It’s a tough game when you look at the stats but Chicago has not seen anything like what Dallas has planned on Sunday Night…the 2nd SNF game of the season for the Cowboys. He is assured of at least a few short attempts by the passing game of Dallas. Is Barber going to have a great game? No but he will likely be serviceable. I wish the Cowboys would just make him the starter and feed him 20 carries a game. He only has 29 touches on the season and is #3 in FF points. We can tlak about this but I can’t think of a reason to sit him right now.
Julius Jones: Sit him down.
Cedric Benson: He was better last week. The good news is he has 43 carries on the season…so he is getting the touches. I would think Chicago is going to have to put up more than 14-17 points to try and win thios week so he should be part of that effort. As an RB2 or flex I play him for now.
Adrian Peterson: Didn’t see the ball much last week. We still like him for later on in the season.
Tennessee at New Orleans: Boy can MNF put up some real crap. The entire coverage of the games is pathetic. If I have to hear Suzy Kolber talk about what happens at halftime like a child seeing Disney World for the first time…and Tafoya is awful too. Why can’t we at least get Melissa Starks back, she was fantastic! And the booth is pathetic too. Terico is much better suited for golf, although I can’t stand him in any capacity really. Barkley was the best part of the game…MNF is not for the fan, it’s for someone else…you are much better served by tuning in Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason on the radio, they are top notch and offer a lot of insight.
The Titans are only giving up 78 yds a game on defense and 4 ypc.
The Saints are allowing about the same ypc but are giving up 125 a game on the ground. Teams are running it at them to keep Brees and crew on the sidelines. Also they just plain stink right now so teams are racking up yds when they get ahead. Can TN get ahead of NO?
LenDale White: Despite what Chris Brown did in game 1, White is the starter. He is doing alright for the moment and I would probably play him in a flex spot right now. He is sharing the load but he has 33 carries so far and I expect him to get between 15-18 carries this week, and with the way NO is playing on defense you have to think he will be involved. Here comes the monkey wrench….the game is on carpet and I like White much better on grass. He is not that fast really and so he is somewhat netralized on that carpet in NO. Buyer beware.
Chris Brown: After 175 in week 1 he put up 35 last week. He might do better this week as he is faster than White but you are taking a big risk by playing Brown right now.
Deuce McAllister: Was more involved in the offense last week. He simply is better at running the ball between the Tackles than Reggie Bush. I have to think that NO will test the secondary of Tennessee and connect on some passes setting up a few short fields for Deuce to run down hill. I have been very leery of trying to predict TD for Deuce but I have to think he will get shot or two on Monday Night, and I like him as a possible RB2 this week or flex play.
Reggie Bush: I don’t have much to say. He seems to have regressed this season…or maybe the OL is playing worse, there are lots of excuses we could come up with but in the end he just is not getting the ball enough and not doing anything with it when he does get it so you almost have to bench the guy for now. Be interesting to see what others have behind Reggie as options right now.
Good luck this weekend everyone. I hope you guys take the information and draw some of your own conclusions, as you notice I try to stay away from hard stats as that can get you into trouble. I look forward to reading all of your thoughts on the games this weekend.
So far the RB, have had fairly low scoring. We have seen little multiple TD days and almost none from the top tier RB drafted early in redrafts this season. This can happen early in the season and I would expect scoring to pick up when the weather cools down a bit.
Again I urge you to take caution when looking at what has happened so far. Look at the competition for some of these teams before you crown them as world beaters on offense and defense. And understand that sometimes no matter how good the match up is you are going to roll snake eyes sometimes.
Let’s jump into week 3!
Arizona at Baltimore
The Cards are giving up 92 yds a game and 4 yds a carry. Sort of a neutral feel on their defense. It’s not the worst in the NFL by far but if a team really wanted to press the issue they might have some good success as well. The Birds have allowed 3 TD so far on the ground.
The Ravens, surprise surprise, are only allowing 2.5 yds a carry and 62 yds a game…stingy stingy stingy…ZERO TD surrendered.
Edgerrin James: As nice a surprise as he has been, this is not the week to take the plunge with EJ. The Ravens are just too tough and Edge will likely be bottled up for most of the day. He’s not lighting it up OOTB either so I don’t see James a strong play at all this week.
Willis McGahee: Has not scored a rushing TD yet but had a nice game last week against the Jets, avg 22.5 carries a game so far…he is getting plenty of touches. Does have 1 receiving TD. Pretty solid play this week. Has been a borderline RB1 so far this season so if he is your RB2, plug him in.
Buffalo at New England
The Bills are giving up 5.5 yds a carry and 177 yds rushing a game. WOW! That’s downright awful.
The Pats on the other hand…2.9 and 56 yds allowed a week right now. And just shut down LT this past Sunday Night.
Marshawn Lynch: He certainly is running hard and perhaps on other teams he would have an even bigger splash his first couple of weeks…but the Bills are not getting anything done in the passing game. This is putting a lot of pressure on the ground game. The guy has been avg about 90 yds and .5TD a week so far. I expect a drop in production because of the match up…if you can live with 75 total yds and perhaps nothing in the TD department then go for it.
Laurence Maroney: One of the hardest RB to figure out right now…or maybe we just don’t want to face facts. He is avg about 4 yds a carry right now and has ZERO receptions…he is a non factor in the passing game so basically he is one dimensional. If you have an owner that is hot for this guy, I would dump him and take what you can get. He is going to have some 100 yd/1TD games but he is going to have some 75 yds and nothing games, those hurt you. Buffalo is not stopping anyone right now so this might be one of his better weeks, but with no factor in the passing game his yardage totals have to be lowered to somewhere in the 1,200-1,300 range for the season likely. If he has a good game against a soft defense this week, maybe you can move him.
Sammy Morris: I talked about him as a WW pick up last week. The cat is out of the bag, he now is higher than Maroney for production on the season with 7 less carries a game too. I would not be starting Morris but when bye weeks roll around he might be a decent Flex2 option.
Detroit at Philadelphia
Detroit is giving up 3.8 yds a carry and 107 a game on the ground…teams are definitely trying to use ball control and keep their offense off the field as much as possible. The Vikes almost got that done last week until TJax turned into Robin Hood for them.
Philly is also playing well allowing only 3.5 ypc, and 88 on the ground.
Tatum Bell: Only as a flex in PPR leagues would I even remotely consider him right now. He was awful last week and the running game for Detroit is a total joke right now. They actually can run the ball a bit but they don’t even try…one of the lowest attempts in the NFL…not sure what that means for Kevin Jones when he comes back.
Kevin Jones: They are saying he is scheduled to start playing as soon as this weekend. I would take a wait and see approach for this. Detroit is about their 4 WR sets right now, not running anyone up between the Tackles…sorry.
Brian Westbrook: Like a lot of the elite RB, he has been sort of ho hum so far. Actually almost 300 yds and 14 catches so far is pretty darn impressive but he isn’t scoring TDs and in non PPR leagues he is running outside the top10…go figure. As long as he is healthy, Westy is almost an automatic start. The entire Eagles team is sort of down in the dumps right now, when McNabb snaps out of it, I think Westy will see his TDs take off.
Indy at Houston
Colts are giving up 4.1 ypc and 123 a game on the ground. Not that great but with their offense it isn’t the end of the world either.
Houston is giving up 3.9 ypc and only 69 yds a game. It would appear that teams might be able to run on them if they would stick with it.
Joseph Addai: Avg about 115 total yds and a TD each week. Things are looking great for owners so far. Top5 for the moment. I look for Houston who will be having their own challenges scoring to fall behind and this will allow for plenty of runs by Joseph Addai. No reason to think he can’t keep up the pace. Houston is not a pushover by any means but they haven’t faced an offense with as many weapons as the Colts yet.
Ahman Green: Heard he might have strained something this past Sunday. I would simply look at the injury report but with Andre Johnson out I would think Green will do everything he can to be on the field and stay out there. Assuming he plays I would expect him to have a few more catches. So far he is ranking at about 19…middle of the pack in non PPR leagues for RB2…I expect RB1 numbers from him this weekend.
Ron Dayne: Will be involved this weekend. I expect Houston to try and run as much as they can to try and control the clock. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dayne has another 10+ carries this weekend.
Miami at NYJets
The Phins are giving up 4.6 ypc and over 170+ yds a game…just awful.
The Jets are only yielding 3.5 ypc…but teams are trying to run on them anyways as they are giving up 126 yds a game.
Ronnie Brown: Worst of the early picks so far. Guy is avg about 35-40 yds on the ground. Plain and simple, Miami’ OL is horrible up the middle and they cannot block. How will that magically get better. The Giants were able to run Dallas but the Phins were not…Philly was able to gash some holes on the Skins, but the Phins were not…they are terrible right now and I don’t see how they are going to get better. Ronnie Brown is a bench player for right now.
I said all that to set this up. The Miami/New York game has the potential for fireworks. The Jets secondary is terrible and even the vertically challenged Miami offense might be able to put up some points or complete some long balls and that would set up some short scores for Brown. So I actually think there is a silver lining for owners this weekend. Miami has a crummy defense right now too so maybe we will be treated to a 31-28 shootout of sorts.
Thomas Jones: Should be a good week to start him. The Phins are ripe for opposing RB right now. Portis scored, Barber scored twice…Jones should have a very healthy day on Sunday.
Leon Washington: Didn’t touch the ball at all last weekend. No reason he shouldn’t be a lot more involved this weekend.
Minnesota at Kansas City
The skinny is the Vikings are only allowing 3.1 ypc but a lot of people might be surprised that KC is only allowing 3.6 ypc. KC has faced Ahman Green and Cedric Benson…draw your own conclusions from that. On paper it would appear that LJ is going to get stuffed again and that ADP might have some problems finding running room as well. But these types of games can go the other way.
Both teams are suffering from poor QB play especially the Vikes where they tossed 4 interceptions last weekend. If there are a lot of turnovers in this game, it might mean some cheap points for both sides.
Adrian Peterson: Start him for sure. He had about 100 yds last week with his 4 catches. He seems to be able to strike form anywhere on the filed, that’s a nice dual threat. Even if Taylor is fully healthy, Peterson is going to get 15-20 touches a game it appears.
Chester Taylor: Watch the injury report but I wouldn’t start him even if he is healthy. I want to see the splits with ADP before I would go and insert him into a starting line up.
Mewelde Moore: Remains a person of interest…
Larry Johnson: He has 10 catches so far…10! Those are the same as Reggie Bush’s catch total. I think he will surprise some people at home this week. I think this might be the Chiefs’ 1st home game of the season…that stadium despite their record is going to be rockin, I expect LJ to get his on Sunday. I benched him in one of my leagues last weekend but at home this week, I think you stand behind your man here.
San Diego at Green Bay
The Chargers are in shock still from the #####slap they received at the hands of the Patriots. They don’t look good right now on offense. I understand they have faced some stiff defenses but look what New England did to their vaunted defense…so it can’t just be the fact they played the Bears and Pats.
Green Bay is a surprising 2-0 right now. They were able to defeat Philly via special teams play and they throttled the Giants by 22 in the Meadowlands last week. Here is the dirty stat of the week on the Pack though…less than 100 yds a game they are giving up on the ground, but 4.4 ypc…if Norv Turner will get his head out of his (fill in the blank), then LT could have a field day this weekend in Green Bay.
LT: Just feed him the ball Norv. He has 11 receptions but pretty low yds, and currently has a 1.9 ypc avg. There is no way you can sit him on your bench, in fact he was pretty good in week 1, had a lousy game last week. Just run the ball Norv!
Brandon Jackson: Things can change quickly and it looks like BJ is starting to lose some support in Green Bay. He looks very tentative at hitting the hole and where he had a chance to seize control of the backfield, it now appears that he may be in a RBBC for the time being. Things could change again as he is a rookie, and next week we might be talking about how great he looks. But for right now he is a shaky start and I don’t see how he will tear it up on San Diego. The Bolts got beat badly last week but they are still very talented in their front 7 and should be able to clamp down on the packers’ run game.
DeShawn Wynn: If he is available on your WW, might be a good idea to find a spot for him. He had 2 TD last week including a 35 yd rip. I’m not sold on him yet and he might have just had his most production that he is going to have for the season. Either way he is not a strong play this week against the Bolts.
San Fran at Pittsburgh: A battle of 2-0 teams, this should be a good game.
The Niners are only giving up 3.6 ypc. And they are pretty stingy against the pass. And they are starting off the season 2-0 on narrow victories over AZ and St.L, but the fact is they couldn’t win those games the past couple of seasons. And their offense has been pretty lousy in NFL terms so maybe the fact they are winning the close games, means when they actually put forth a little more effort on offense they can be even better than what they are showing. Plain and simple, Alex Smith and the passing game has stunk so far, thus putting a lot of pressure on the ground game.
The Steelers are giving up about 75 yds a game on the ground which is terrific, however they are almost yielding 3.9 ypc so I am eager to see a team that run the football like San Fran…I think Pittsburgh has beat up on Cleveland and Buffalo and we still don’t know what they are truly made of this season. Sunday will be a much better gauge me thinks.
Frank Gore: 150 total yds and 3 TD in his 1st 2 games. Good for #6 on the FBG YTD stats list…looks like Gore is living up to expectations and I don’t even think we have seen one of his better games yet. Will be tough against Pittsburgh but I expect him to play well on Sunday and the Niners to lean on him as they have all season so far.
FWP: He is going to have a tougher time this week than he has against Cle and Buff. He is always a threat to go off but I expect him to have somewhat pedestrian numbers this Sunday. He has 50 carries so far this season. Only Edge has as many…FWP is a very strong part of the Pittsburgh attack. If you happen to have an owner who is seeing those passing stat for Big Ben and is thinking FWP will not live up to expectations…trade FOR him. Parker is going to have a big season even if he has a mild day Sunday.
St Louis at Tampa Bay
The Rams are thought to have a poor defense but their rush defense is no worse than about average to just below average with a 4.2 ypc. They can certainly be run on but they are not the worst in the league. The Rams are staring down the barrel of and 0-3 start. They squandered a chance to start off strong with back to back weeks at home.
The Bucs are giving up a very average 4.0 ypc, they can be run on as well although last week they did a great job against New Orleans and showed a lot of heart. This game should be very close and for Bucs fans very interesting.
Steven Jackson: I knew he wasn’t going to be the #2 RB in FF but I never imagined him being #28 after the 1st 2 weeks of the season either. He has to snap out of it soon doesn’t he? I know when Pace went out last year the team did alright but that doesn’t mean you are going to every time a potential HoF Left Tackle is out for the season…not good. I think Jackson owners are stuck for the moment. I am not reallt encouraging owners to go buy low on Jackson either…why do you need that type of grief right now. In my leagues the SJax owners are piling up losses…if they don’t make the playoffs that is just one less stud RB we all have to worry about so let them all rot as far I am concerned. The Bucs are going to gameplan to bottle up Jackson, could be another brutal Sunday for owners in the Shark Pool this weekend.
Cadillac Williams: Surprised a lot of people by scoring twice last Sunday. Those TDs are what has made his season so far. He has 36 carries for 120+ yds so he really isn’t avg a lot on the ground and only 2 catches but he had those touchdowns to balance it out. I still am leery of Cadillac but as an RB2 he is giving you what you want. Who couldn’t live with a 2 TD performance from their RB2 once every 2-3 weeks…I doubt that will continue though. I think the Bucs are simply better at home as a lot of teams are, Caddy is at the C.I.T.S. this week so play him. Someone sent me a PM asking what the C.I.T.S. is and that stands for the Community Investment Tax Stadium…the Glazers would have us call it Raymond James but I prefer what the late Chris Thomas in Tampa used to call it since the kind folks in Hillsborough County paid for it.
Cincinnati at Seattle: Everyone is expecting fireworks after last weekend. I am always of the thinking that when a team is really taken to the woodshed the way Cinci was that the next week they do the opposite of what transpired the week before. but that might be more relevant to the passing game which I will talk about later in the week. Cinci has not stopped anyone yet on the ground, and they got torched for 200+ yds from Jamal Lewis last week.
Rudi Johnson: Might have a little tougher time on the Seadogs this weekend. James was pretty good against them last week and Caddy did have 12/60 in week 1 before he got injured. I have to think Johnson is at least a decent play this week but teams don't rack up huge totals in Seattle that often. it's loud, the place is a total madhouse...maybe Cinci will slow it down a bit and lean on Rudi more. They need some longer drives in order to win games.
Shaun Alexander: After McGahee was pretty alright and Lewis torched them, you have to think Shaun will be up for about 120 and a TD opp at some point. Why would Seattle want to score quickly and put Palmer and crew back out there...they want long drives that eat up the clock and give their defense plenty of rest to keep up with the Nati...I am sure Shaun owners are going to be expecting a big week on Sunday.
Cleveland at Oakland
Jamal Lewis: Should be starting for you. I talked before the seaosn how nice Joe Thomas and Eric Steinabahc would be for that OL, the Center is solid too. They can run behind the left side of that line and this is precisely where he tore off a 60+ yarder last week. He was running away form defenders so his speed is not a question. Oakland is not terrible but Henry and even Tatum Bell have had success...I say you got to continue to ride Lewis and see what happens. In 2000 he had back to back games of 180/170 on the ground...In '02 he followed up 180 with 120/2 the next week...In '03 he had a monster year and 12 games with over 100 yds...In '04 he had 186 followed up with 70/1...'05 and '06 were not very productive for Lewis, it appears he might be getting back on track in Cleveland and owners should not sleep on Lewis.
LaMont Jordan: Owners have to be loving his production so far. No reason to bench him this week. Ride the gravy train for another 2 weeks...and even then I am not sure Rhodes will make a huge dent in his production.
Jacksonville at Denver
The Jags only allowed about 80 yds to the Falcons last week. They are giving up 4.9 ypc but the average has been thrown way off by the week 1 game. I expect them to play better the rest of the way although their offense flat out sucks!
Denver is giving up over 5 ypc. They are not stopping the run too well.
Fred Taylor: Until we see some continuity on this offense I wouldn’t be playing a Jag right now. I can see that Denver is allowing a lot on the ground right now but I just wouldn’t be banking on the Jags much. Don’t try and show you are msarter than everyone this week by playing the 49th ranked RB in FF right now…no reason to risk it.
MJD: He is #43 right now. I think MJD is a better play because of his potential, key word, potential for catching passes but that hasn’t really happened to this point. In deep leagues and as a flex option I might look at MJD…but other WR3/4 might be better options at that flex for right now.
Travis Henry: Henry leads the league in rushing yds this season. Still he is only good for #8 right now because he isn’t scoring TDs. He will at some point start popping them in so just keep plugging him in, he is living up to his draft slot for the moment even without the TDs, so things can actually get better here.
Carolina at Atlanta
The Panthers are giving up 3.4 ypc right now.
The Falcons are allowing 4.1 ypc.
DeShaun Foster: He just cannot string consecutive games together as one poster said last week. I don’t know why but he has a decent game then he plays like crap the next week. He is part of an RBBC right now and anyone that knows when he is going to have a great game please post it cause I’d like to know. Just too up and down right now. On paper he should do fine this week but that doesn’t mean jackcrap when it comes to Foster and the Panthers for that matter. Jump to a 14-0 lead last week and then what happened? Where was the running game?
DeAngelo Williams: Not reliable enough to put out there for now.
Warrick Dunn: A borderline RB2, better as an RB3 or flex option. He is #23 on the charts for the season. Been a little more active in the passing game but overall the Falcons are not playing well. They did sign Lord Byron yesterday so I look for them at some point to start Lefty and then I think this offense will have a chance to actually do something with a decent passing attack.
Jerious Norwood: #44 right now on YTD stats…just not the starter right now. Hopefully you didn’t draft him too high and you can just tuck him away for a rainy day later this year. There are actually owners out there I am sure that have both Norwood and MJD on their rosters...OUCH!
NY Giants at Washington
The Giants believe it or not are only giving up 3.8 ypc. However they are also giving up an avg of 2 TD a week, and that is because they stink so bad against the pass that offenses get short fields to punch in those rushing TD.
The Skins are giving up 4.5 ypc but only 90 yds a game. In tight games against Miami and Philly till late, why are teams not testing their rush defense more?
Derrick Ward: Probably a good start this week. The Giants are like a wounded dog in the corner right now, maybe they just need to go out and pound the ball on someone. The Skins don’t have great interior defensive tackles so why not ram it right at them?
Clinton Portis: Giving about 80 yds and a score a week right now. He played very little in the pre season and I expect him to get more and more touches as the season wears on. Nothing shows a reason not play him right now. He is #12 and most folks took him as an RB2 which he is filling very nicely.
Ladell Betts: He is not the starter, barring injury he is not playable.
Dallas at Chicago
The Cowboys are allowing 4.3 ypc, 92 yds a game on the ground. Teams are running the ball on them enough…it’s hard when you are down 10-20 points but they are not juggernauts on defense. They just signed Tank Johnson…could pay off later in the season for them.
Chicago is giving up 2.5 ypc! Harris and Urlacher do not allow for much room up the gut.
Marion Barber III: I play him, sure why not? It’s a tough game when you look at the stats but Chicago has not seen anything like what Dallas has planned on Sunday Night…the 2nd SNF game of the season for the Cowboys. He is assured of at least a few short attempts by the passing game of Dallas. Is Barber going to have a great game? No but he will likely be serviceable. I wish the Cowboys would just make him the starter and feed him 20 carries a game. He only has 29 touches on the season and is #3 in FF points. We can tlak about this but I can’t think of a reason to sit him right now.
Julius Jones: Sit him down.
Cedric Benson: He was better last week. The good news is he has 43 carries on the season…so he is getting the touches. I would think Chicago is going to have to put up more than 14-17 points to try and win thios week so he should be part of that effort. As an RB2 or flex I play him for now.
Adrian Peterson: Didn’t see the ball much last week. We still like him for later on in the season.
Tennessee at New Orleans: Boy can MNF put up some real crap. The entire coverage of the games is pathetic. If I have to hear Suzy Kolber talk about what happens at halftime like a child seeing Disney World for the first time…and Tafoya is awful too. Why can’t we at least get Melissa Starks back, she was fantastic! And the booth is pathetic too. Terico is much better suited for golf, although I can’t stand him in any capacity really. Barkley was the best part of the game…MNF is not for the fan, it’s for someone else…you are much better served by tuning in Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason on the radio, they are top notch and offer a lot of insight.
The Titans are only giving up 78 yds a game on defense and 4 ypc.
The Saints are allowing about the same ypc but are giving up 125 a game on the ground. Teams are running it at them to keep Brees and crew on the sidelines. Also they just plain stink right now so teams are racking up yds when they get ahead. Can TN get ahead of NO?
LenDale White: Despite what Chris Brown did in game 1, White is the starter. He is doing alright for the moment and I would probably play him in a flex spot right now. He is sharing the load but he has 33 carries so far and I expect him to get between 15-18 carries this week, and with the way NO is playing on defense you have to think he will be involved. Here comes the monkey wrench….the game is on carpet and I like White much better on grass. He is not that fast really and so he is somewhat netralized on that carpet in NO. Buyer beware.
Chris Brown: After 175 in week 1 he put up 35 last week. He might do better this week as he is faster than White but you are taking a big risk by playing Brown right now.
Deuce McAllister: Was more involved in the offense last week. He simply is better at running the ball between the Tackles than Reggie Bush. I have to think that NO will test the secondary of Tennessee and connect on some passes setting up a few short fields for Deuce to run down hill. I have been very leery of trying to predict TD for Deuce but I have to think he will get shot or two on Monday Night, and I like him as a possible RB2 this week or flex play.
Reggie Bush: I don’t have much to say. He seems to have regressed this season…or maybe the OL is playing worse, there are lots of excuses we could come up with but in the end he just is not getting the ball enough and not doing anything with it when he does get it so you almost have to bench the guy for now. Be interesting to see what others have behind Reggie as options right now.
Good luck this weekend everyone. I hope you guys take the information and draw some of your own conclusions, as you notice I try to stay away from hard stats as that can get you into trouble. I look forward to reading all of your thoughts on the games this weekend.
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As was the pig-headedness of the coach. 
). You could also make the case that the Giants are a week (or maybe a quarter and a half) away from mailing in the rest of the season. Coughlin is a lame duck coach; I can't see these guys playing like "wounded dogs" for him.
We could analyze it till our heads explode but why fight it? he just doesn't make it happen, timeto focus on MB III, eventually he has to be named the starter but for the past season now he is ismply the best option on that team.
solid.....like always
