Week 3 in Review
Who's
Hot
Quarterback -
1) Tom Brady –
311 yards and 4 touchdowns passing, 2 yards rushing, 1 fumble
Actual week 3 Quarterback rank - #2
There is no limit to the effectiveness of Tom Brady’s quarterbacking
ability. I am convinced that with the addition of Randy Moss, New
England could go 15-1 this year. I don’t know who the one loss will
be to, but I’m not ready to anoint any team with an undefeated
record.
2) Drew Brees –
225 yards passing, 4 interceptions, 9 yards rushing, 1 fumble
Actual week 3 Quarterback rank – better off not starting a
Quarterback
Oh so close on this pick … well not really. Nothing like a 0-5
touchdown-to-turnover ratio. Now I know that Tennessee’s defense
was pretty stout again Peyton Manning in week 2, but they aren’t
that good; Drew was horrible. The Saints’ offense looked confused
and disoriented. Worse yet, Deuce McAllister is out for the
season. All and all, it was about as bad a game as could be for New
Orleans.
3) Matt Hasselbeck –
248 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 2 interceptions, -1 yard rushing
Actual week 3 Quarterback rank - #6
Good game out of Hasselbeck, but I don’t know how often you can
expect this kind of a game out of him. Cincinnati’s defense
obviously had a much better game, in comparison to week 2 against
Cleveland; but it will definitely be the Bengals downfall for the
foreseeable future.
4) Jon Kitna –
446 yards and 2 touchdowns passing, 1 interception, 2 fumbles
Actual week 3 Quarterback rank - #7
Jon Kitna had the exact kind of game that I expected out of him.
Without a running game, Kitna is likely going to throw his arm out
before long; not to mention the fact that the more he throws, the
more he gets hit, the more likely he gets injured, and the more
likely the Lions are out of any serious contention for a playoff
spot.
5) Carson Palmer –
342 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 2 interceptions, -1 yard rushing
Actual week 3 Quarterback rank - #16
For the first time I can remember, Carson looked confused and Chad
Johnson looked upset. Palmer was completely off on his timing for
most of the second half. He is going to have to play a near perfect
game this week to avoid falling to 1-3 against the Patriots this
weekend.
No Manning? Against the Texans? What are you crazy? – No, I think it
will be a closer game than people think and there is a particular
reason that I think Manning may not have his top fantasy game this
week.
273 yards and 1 touchdown
Actual week 3 Quarterback rank - #14
Pretty disappointing performance recently for Peyton Manning fantasy
football owners. As always, Peyton doesn’t care as long as he does
enough for the win. And he has … and he will continue to do so.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t see many 3+ touchdown games for him
against better opponents. He’s not going to have to put up
ridiculous number with Indy’s defense and Joseph Addai performing as
well as they have.
Running Back -
1) LaDainian Tomlinson –
62 yards rushing, 33 yards and 1 touchdown receiving
Actual week 3 Running back rank - #10
He’s still due … and you got to wonder about San Diego’s decision to
axe Marty Schottenheimer. The Chargers’ offense just isn’t the same
this year, so far.
2) Joseph Addai –
72 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing, 19 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Running back rank - #6
He’s already one of the best fantasy running backs this year.
There’s no reason why he shouldn’t put up these numbers or better
each week.
3) Willie Parker –
133 yards rushing, 9 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Running back rank - #11
Once again, the rushing yardage is there for Willie … just not the
touchdowns though. The problem for Willie and the offense is that
Pittsburgh’s defense is converting most of their returns for
touchdowns (they’ve had at least one touchdown in each game so far).
The Steelers can’t keep that trend up at their current pace. So
fantasy owners will just have to learn to live with the hundred yard
rushing average, whether or not he gets a touchdown.
4) Clinton Portis
60 yards and 1 touchdown rushing, 37 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Running back rank - #9
Definitely not the kind of performance one would expect from Clinton
against the Giants’ defense, but it was palatable for fantasy
owners. That’s more that what Redskins fans can say right now.
This was a big disappointment for Washington (a Giant disappointment
… hardy har) after the absolutely huge win they had the previous
week on Monday night.
5) Lamont Jordan –
121 yards and 1 touchdown rushing, 32 yards
Actual week 3 Running back rank - #5
Owners of Lamont Jordan may want to consider the possibility of
selling him while he’s at his highest value. It is true that they
will have to use him as not only there number one running back, but
also a main outlet for the Raiders’ passing game. That being said,
who knows how things will get split when Dominic Rhodes comes back
in the upcoming weeks. If you can get a worth while trade, I would
suggest you try to pull it soon before Rhodes comes back.
Wide Receiver -
1) Steve Smith –
10 yards receiving, 6 yards rushing
Actual week 3 Wide receiver rank - #85
You know this won’t happen for two straight games. I probably
should have somewhat seen this coming, as Steve has had trouble in
the past with DeAngelo Hall. I don’t think there were too many
people (Nostradamus aside) that predicted that kind of performance.
What is more unlikely than Steve Smith getting 10 yards receiving
and the Panthers getting 27 points in a win?
2) Reggie Wayne –
84 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Wide receiver rank - #26
The receiving yardage is there, but the Colts are playing a
different style of offense than we are used to, though. Don’t give
up on Reggie or Marvin, though. They are eventually going to open
up more when teams try to stop Addai.
3) Randy Moss –
115 yards and 2 touchdowns
Actual week 3 Wide receiver rank - #4
What do you know, two touchdowns and a bunch of yardage. It isn’t
fair that New England got him for a fourth round draft pick. He can
continually have these kinds of games. The only two people that can
stop him from doing so are Tom Brady and himself.
4) Joey Galloway –
42 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Wide receiver rank - #52
He wasn’t needed that much. Tampa Bay could have run the ball every
play against the Rams. With the current state of St Louis’ offense,
I don’t think a lot of teams are going to have to pass much against
them.
5) Santana Moss –
82 yards receiving, 2 yards rushing
Actual week 3 Wide receiver rank - #27
Again, not the kind of game you would expect from a player matched
up against the Giants’ D. Maybe we underestimated their defense …
then again, maybe Philadelphia had a horrible game against
Washington and made them look a lot better than they are.
Tight End
1) Antonio Gates -
113 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Tight end rank - #5
Even without the touchdowns, there’s still no better tight end. Its
only a matter of time before he breaks loose for a game.
2) Kellen Winslow -
88 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Tight end rank - #7
3) Chris Cooley -
19 yards and 1 touchdown receiving
Actual week 3 Tight end rank - #11
4) Owen Daniels -
56 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Tight end rank - #20
5) Tony Gonzalez -
96 yards receiving
Actual week 3 Tight end rank - #6
Place Kicker
1) Adam Vinatieri – 3 field goals, 3 extra points
Actual week 3 Kicker rank – #5 Tied
2) Jason Elam – 2 extra points
Actual week 3 Kicker rank – #31
3) Shaun Suisham – 1 Field goal, 2 extra points
Actual week 3 Kicker rank – #19 Tied
4) Josh Brown – 1 Field goal, 3 extra points
Actual week 3 Kicker rank – #19 Tied
5) Jeff Reed – 3 Field goals, 4 extra points
Actual week 3 Kicker rank - #3
Team Defense
1) New England -
7 points allowed, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery
Actual week 3 Defense rank - #9
Outside of Marshawn Lynch, no one did anything for the Bills. The
Patriots’ D didn’t have to do that much last Sunday.
2) Baltimore -
23 points allowed, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 return TD
Actual week 3 Defense rank - #10
Who could have known Kurt Warner would resurrect his career? After
that performance, Arizona is going to want Matt Leinart to take a
rest and try to get the kinks out of his game. With the way he
performed against Baltimore’s D in the fourth quarter, Warner should
be a viable fantasy starter, provided that Arizona keeps him in.
3) Minnesota -
13 points allowed, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery
Actual week 3 Defense rank - #15
What? No touchdowns. That’s not good enough … not with the Vikings
lack of offensive production. Just kidding, Minnesota’s defense is
still one of the top in the league.
4) Pittsburgh -
16 points allowed, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 1 defensive TD, 1 return
TD
Actual week 3 Defense rank - #3
Like I said before, they aren’t going to be able to continue to
score one or two touchdowns a week. That being said, I wouldn’t bet
against Pittsburgh getting a defensive/special teams score again
next week.
5) Kansas City -
10 points allowed, 5 sacks, 1 interception.
Actual week 3 Defense rank - #8
A good play for one week. I’m not sure you would want to play KC’s
defense this week though. Not on the road against San Diego.
Eventually, with no offense to speak of, the Chiefs’ defense will
wear down and the wheels will fall off.
Who's Not
Quarterback –
1) Matt Leinart –
53 yards passing, 2 yards rushing – replaced by Kurt Warner
Actual week 3 QB rank - #31
That’s the definition of a cold quarterback. Kurt Warner came in
and almost rescued the day. I can’t see Arizona going back to
Leinart for the time being.
2) Phillip Rivers –
306 yards and 3 touchdowns passing, 1 interception, -1 yard rushing
Actual week 3 QB rank - #4
Well, he most certainly woke up this week. Problem is, it still
wasn’t enough and the Chargers aren’t utilizing Tomlinson
correctly. San Diego is heading in the right direction, though, and
I expect them to start clicking in the upcoming weeks.
3) Marc Bulger –
116 yards passing, 3 interceptions
Actual week 3 QB rank – tied for last with J.P. Losman
St Louis is in deep trouble for right now. The loss of Orlando Pace
is killing them. Compounding the problem is Steven Jackson’s
injury. I would completely avoid St Louis fantasy players for the
time being.
4) David Garrard –
154 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 52 yards rushing, 1 fumble
Actual week 3 QB rank - #15
Not horrible, the Jags offense still confuses me. They are winning
though, so it doesn’t matter what us fantasy football managers
think.
5) Derek Anderson –
248 yards and 1 touchdown passing, 2 interceptions, 12 yards and 1
touchdown rushing
Actual week 3 QB rank - #11
Cleveland was showing their colors in the first half against
Oakland. Then they rebounded and almost pulled out that game
against the Raiders. Derek Anderson still isn’t your starting
fantasy quarterback material yet, but he’s at least worth
considering if the Browns can keep this up.
Running Back -
1) Marion Barber III –
102 yards and 1 touchdown rushing, 10 yards and 1 touchdown
receiving
Actual week 3 RB rank - #4
Well, it should have been a tough matchup against Chicago. Instead,
Chicago’s offense did its best to keep their own defense on the
field as much as possible, which completely wore them down. Then,
Marion Barber completely took over. Dallas is the best team in the
NFC right now. Chicago’s saving grace … playing Detroit and their
inept defense this weekend. Don’t be surprised though if that
Chicago D doesn’t get completely depleted by the end of the year.
2) Maurice Jones-Drew –
37 yards rushing, 18 yards receiving, 1 fumble
Actual week 3 RB rank - #56
Don’t give up on him yet. He’s not going to get you any trade
value. If you don’t have him, try and pick Jones-Drew up for a good
QB or WR. He’ll come around eventually. Just not for the next few
weeks. The longer you let him flounder, the more annoyed fantasy
managers will get, the better deal you can get for him from somebody
that is pissed that they drafted him so high.
3) Larry Johnson –
42 yards rushing, -5 yards receiving
Actual week 3 RB rank - #46
Just like Jones-Drew, don’t give up on him. You never know. He
isn’t splitting carries with anyone else and he’ll start catching
passes again sometime. You might want to aggressively go after
Johnson if you feel that someone in your league is giving up on him,
much more so than Jones-Drew.
4) DeShaun Foster –
122 yards and 1 touchdown rushing, 13 yards 1 touchdown receiving
Actual week 3 RB rank - #3
Don’t know what to make of DeShaun. On the one hand, he has the
potential to rack up some points; on the other hand, Carolina
doesn’t use him consistently enough and he will have bad games. My
bad luck to throw him on the cold list this week.
5) Chris Brown –
38 yard rushing, 18 yards receiving
Actual week 3 RB rank - #43
He’s not a viable option right now, as he is clearly behind LenDale
White
and Vince Young in the running game.
Wide Receiver -
1) Lee Evans –
7 yards receiving
Actual week 3 WR rank - Tied for last
He’s not going to be on my cold list anymore. Not until he or
Buffalo proves something. Your better off with a random sleeper
pick.
2) Reggie Brown –
23 yards receiving
Actual week 3 WR rank - #67
Copy and paste my response for Lee Evans. You know its bad when a
Philadelphia wide receiver ties the NFL record for most yards in a
half, and you only get two passes for 23 yards.
3) Larry Fitzgerald –
85 yards receiving, 1 fumble
Actual week 3 WR rank - #42
Not horrible. You’d rather not have the fumble, but considering who
he was matched up with, Fitzgerald did well. He’s going to be a much
more viable option this week with Anquain Boldin being gimpy.
4) Isaac Bruce –
14 yards receiving
Actual week 3 WR rank - #86
St Louis players are going to be off this list until they prove they
are worth starting.
5) Santonio Holmes –
49 yards receiving
Actual week 3 WR rank - #51
Definitely play him this upcoming weekend, as Hines Ward is out
against Arizona.
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