IN BRIEF
Drew Bledsoe wasn’t a top choice in
most fantasy leagues, considered well
past his prime and signed in Dallas pri
marily to execute handoffs.
The Giants’ Eli Manning was equal
ly undesirable, known simply as the
other Manning, the one whose main
job also mostly entailed handing the
ball to somebody else.
Yet heading into Sunday’s Giants
Cowboys game, they are among the
NFC’s top quarterbacks. For fantasy
players smart enough to have acquired
them, one burning question remains:
Can they keep it up all season?
It’s a troubling question if you have
Bledsoe. Remember his fast start in
2002? He threw 16 touchdowns in the
first eight games, then just eight the
rest of the way. The next year he had
11 TDs. And last year he had a couple
of nice games in Buffalo’s late-season
run, but still had only three scores in
his final four games.
r
It’s hard to guess whether Man
ning can keep going. In his rookie
year last season, he was just start
ing to figure things out as the sea
son was wrapping up. (For the
record, he has a brother who’s pret
ty good late in the season.)
So what do you do with these
guys? I say ride them as long as they
produce and worry about the end of
the season later — all the while
keeping a watchful eye on the waiv
er wire, just in case.
While you ponder their futures,
here are some other players to start
this week, some to bench and some
long shots who just might pan out:
Quarterbacks: A Safe Bet
See above. Bledsoe has 10 TDs in
five games and faces a leaky, beat-up
secondary. Because consistency is im
possible in the NFL, Manning (9 TDs)
should have a big day against a
defense that last week dominated
Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb.
The Tennessee defense has come to
mean one thing for fantasy players:
Come and get it! Especially for Carson
Palmer and the Bengals, who suddenly
aren’t so used to losing.
Tom Brady’s passing has kept the
Patriots afloat since they stopped
playing defense. He’s thrown for
300 yards in each of New England’s
three wins. He only had two 300
yard games all last season.
The Chargers’ Drew Brees could
have another big day against Oak
land’s woeful pass defense. Last
season he had a career-high five
TDs in a win over the Raiders.
The Atlanta starter should do well
against the Saints, either Michael Vick
running or Matt Schaub passing. (Dis
claimer and possible fantasy tip: Vick
has failed miserably every time I’ve
predicted success for him.)
EUGENE
J/uHJ/aSue.
HARDWARE
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LAWN & GARDEN
HOUSEWARES
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HELP IS JUST AROUND
THE CORNER.
2825 Willamette
Eugene,Oregon
342-5191
Back away slowly and
nobody gets hurt
Please, in the name of Akili
Smith, don’t start these guys:
Even before he imploded, Min
nesota’s Daunte Culpepper strug
gled at Chicago. He has four TDs
and six interceptions in his last
three games there.
Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck’s a nice
quarterback, but sit him against Hous
ton unless your fantasy league awards
points for successful handoffs.
The big Florida showdown be
tween Miami’s Gus Frerotte and
Tampa’s Brian Griese probably will
not be fun to watch.
Running backs all day long
What’s wrong with Cincinnati’s
Rudi Johnson? He hasn’t hit 100
yards or scored a touchdown since
opening day, but the Titans should
make it all better.
Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis has been
slowly improving, and the Browns
aren’t really into making runners
stop. Has it already been two years
since Lewis ran for an NFL-record
295 yards against Cleveland?
Chargers defensive backs can’t
keep their hands to themselves,
meaning plenty of pass interference
calls for Oakland’s Randy Moss and
plenty of chances for 1-yard TD
plunges for Lamont Jordan.
Whoever’s running for Chicago
should enjoy the day against who
ever’s not tackling in Minnesota.
Start Thomas Jones if he plays, or
Cedric Benson, against the NFL’s
worst run defense.
Take the advice of Kevin Jones and
start him for Detroit against the Pan
thers. (According to teammate Roy
Williams, Jones owns himself on his
fantasy team. Imagine that odd draft
day moment: “I’ll take... me.”)
He could find a seam
Rueben Droughns of Cleveland
has been productive but hasn’t
scored yet. That could change
against the Ravens, who are letting
just about anybody into the end
zone these days. (Artose Pinner and
Shawn Bryson on the same day?)
Red flags
All the geniuses who landed Pitts
burgh’s Willie Parker have to pipe
down now that he’s sharing time
with Jerome Bettis —■ at least until
the Bus’ next injury.
Before you get too excited about
starting New Orleans’ Antowain
Smith or Aaron Stecker in place of
the injured Deuce McAllister, re
member that they are Antowain
Smith and Aaron Stecker.
Don’t start Ricky Williams or
Ronnie Brown of Miami, who are
splitting carries against a tough
Tampa defense.
Wide receivers throw
him the darn ball!
Rod Smith has been awfully qui
et for the Broncos the past few
weeks, but he should resume his
big-time possession numbers
against the beat-up Patriots.
The Redskins are headed to Ar
rowhead, a bad locale when you
just recently forgot how to stop the
run. Look for Santana Moss to cash
in on garbage-time yardage in the
comeback attempt.
Speaking of garbage time, rookie
Troy Williamson of the Vikings is
developing into a crafty young trash
man. He’s had a score when things
were out of hand, or on the way
there, in his past two games.
The Cowboys seem to spread it
around a lot, so how about
Keyshawn Johnson this week
against a Giants defense that’s been
yielding 322 yards passing a game.
Maybe a TD or two will patch things
up with Bledsoe after last week’s
sideline spat.
San Diego’s Keenan McCardell
has only had one catch in each of
the past two weeks, so he’s due for
a big game against a poor Raiders
pass defense. He caught 11 passes,
including a TD, in two games
against the Raiders last year.
Maybe throw him
the dam ball?
Houston’s Jabar Gaffney could be a
long, long, long shot. Andre Johnson
is hurt and the Texans will get more
practice with this whole forward pass
thing while playing catch-up with the
Seahawks. And really, how long can
an NFL offense continue averaging 89
yards passing?
Learn how to throw
the dam ball
If you’re still starting Jets, Lions,
Bears or Ravens, let me see if I can
make this any more clear: Their
quarterbacks are not good.
TIGHT ENDS TO WATCH NOT
NAMED GATES: Jason Witten
(Cowboys), Courtney Anderson
(Raiders), Todd Heap (Ravens),
Alex Smith (Bucs). And can some
body please throw Kansas City’s
Tony Gonzalez a touchdown so we
don’t have to see any more high
lights of him being frustrated?
DEFENSES TO WATCH: Sea
hawks, Bears, Colts, Bills, Bucs.
KICKERS TO WATCH: Nobody re
ally wants to watch kickers, but
here are some anyway: Jay Feely
(Giants), Josh Brown (Seahawks)
Jose Cortez (Cowboys), Nate Kaed
ing (Chargers), Lawrence Tynes
(Chiefs).
What do I know?
Here’s the best and worst of last
week’s projections:
Big Hits: I predicted big games for
Green Bay’s Brett Favre (3 TDs) and
Arizona’s Josh McCown (394 yards, 2
TDs), as well as breakout games for
Chicago’s Thomas Jones (137 yards),
Domanick Davis (173 total yards) and
Terry Glenn (118 yards, 2 TDs).
Big Misses: I thought the Colts’
Peyton Manning (1 TD) would
shred the 49ers, and that the Eagles
defense would shred Dallas’ Drew
Bledsoe (289 yards, 3 TDs). I also
was the last guy on the Willie Park
er (26 yards) bandwagon when it
flew off the cliff. And I thought
David Givens (14 yards) would
catch lots of passes.
The Associated Press
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