|
| |
Heading into Week 2
|
|
By Richard Harris |
| September 11, 2007 |
| |
| Also see:
|
| |
|
Week 1 was brutal. A boat-load of
players were injured, and the majority of the games were mistake-filled,
ugly affairs.
On the injury front, the Giants were
hit hard. RB Brandon Jacobs suffered an MCL sprain and is likely
to miss 3-4 weeks. QB Eli Manning, who was in the midst of a
spectacular game vs. Dallas, had to leave with a right (throwing)
shoulder injury. ESPN is reporting that Manning will miss at least a
month, while the Giants say that the quarterback is “day-to-day.” I
watched Manning throw after he suffered the injury, and he put plenty of
zip on the ball. I think that he’ll be back in less than a month.
The Giants appear to be in decent
shape at running back with Derrick Ward and Reuben Droughns,
but the passing game will suffer without Manning. Backup QB Jared
Lorenzen has thrown just three career passes and weighs 285 pounds.
If J-Load is under center, you should be leery of starting any Giant.
The list of other players whose
status is in doubt for Week 2 includes QB Chad Pennington
(ankle), RB T.J. Duckett (ankle), RB Chester Taylor (hip),
RB Carnell Williams (ribs), and WR Greg Jennings
(hamstring).
The Jags are uncertain how long K
Josh Scobee (quad) will be out, and they have signed veteran John
Carney as a replacement.
Chiefs WR Eddie Kennison will
miss at least a week with a hamstring strain. After watching QB
Damon Huard play against Houston, I can’t recommend running out and
grabbing the other KC wideouts, Samie Parker or rookie Dwayne
Bowe.
Seattle No. 2 WR D.J Hackett
is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks due to a high ankle
sprain, and his replacement, Nate Burleson might be worth a
drop/add.
Of course, the worst injury of all
was to Bills backup TE Kevin Everett, who suffered a
life-threatening spinal cord injury and may never walk again. My best
wishes go out to Kevin, his family and his friends.
The Everett news has little fantasy
value, but it does put the game in perspective. I couldn’t help but
think of it on Monday night when I saw San Francisco WR Darrell
Jackson short-arm a potential catch to avoid getting smacked while
going over the middle. If you recall, Jackson was a rather sure-handed
receiver when he came into the league, but after he nearly died from a
hit from Dallas safety Darren Woodson in 2002, he has been among
the league leaders in drops. Considering what happened to Everett, you
have to have more sympathy and understanding for Jackson.
Now, let’s take a look at the status
of the market.
STOCK RISING
 |
QB Tony Romo (Dallas)
– And you wondered why we had him ranked so high in the preseason. |
|
WR Randy Moss (New England)
– Damn it, I hate it when I am wrong. It looks like flaky Randy will
work out in New England. |
|
RB Adrian Peterson (Minnesota)
– Peterson owners got a huge break when Chester Taylor went down, and
the rookie showed off his impressive skills. |
|
RB Marshawn Lynch (Buffalo)
– Lynch performed well against a solid Denver defense. He and
Peterson might fight it out all season for the Rookie of the Year
award. |
|
RB Clinton Portis (Washington)
– Too many owners forgot on draft day that C-Po is only 26.
|
|
RB LaMont Jordan (Oakland)
– What a difference a coaching staff change can make. Jordan looked
like the multi-purpose weapon who put up huge numbers in 2005.
|
|
TE Jason Witten (Dallas)
– Witten should put up nice numbers until Terry Glenn comes back – if
he comes back. |
|
QB Ben Roethlisberger
(Pittsburgh) – Big Ben is healthy and has a
favorable schedule for throwing the football. |
|
RB Tatum Bell (Detroit)
– T.J. Duckett is hurt and fellow RB Kevin Jones (foot) is likely a
couple of weeks away from returning. |
STOCK FALLING
|
WR Deion Branch (Seattle)
– Thanks, Deion. I caught as many balls as you did on Sunday. I’m
sure that Branch will bounce back to post decent numbers, but he’s not
really a No. 1 receiver. |
|
WR Donte’ Stallworth (New
England) – There are not enough balls to go
around in New England. |
|
WR Anthony Gonzalez
(Indianapolis) – He didn’t see much playing
time in the opener, but he would be very valuable if either Marvin
Harrison, Reggie Wayne, or Dallas Clark went down. |
|
WR Dwayne Jarrett (Carolina)
– At least Gonzalez was on the active list. |
|
K Justin Medlock (Kansas City)
– You’re not at UCLA anymore – the Chiefs have signed former Packer
kicker Dave Rayner. |
|
WR Matt Jones (Jacksonville)
– Jones didn’t start, dropped a pass in the end zone, and finished
with the same number of catches as Reggie Williams, who was on the
inactive list. |
|
RB Brandon Jackson (Green Bay)
– If the rookie continues like this, Vernand Morency (knee) will get a
shot when he’s healthy. |
|
RB Warrick Dunn (Atlanta)
– Backup Jerious Norwood averaged 4.1 more yards per carry than Dunn.
|
|
RB Jamal Lewis (Cleveland)
– So much for the slimmed-down Lewis adding life to the Browns’
running game. |
|
QB Steve McNair (Baltimore)
– Was it me, or did McNair suck even before he injured his groin? The
Ravens would do better with Kyle Boller starting. |
|
WR Mark Clayton (Baltimore)
– Hobbled by an ankle injury, Demetrious Williams started in Clayton’s
place. I’m not as worried about the ankle as I am the QB situation in
Baltimore. |
|
RB Cedric Benson (Chicago)
– Yes, he faced a tough San Diego defense, but grab backup Adrian
Peterson just in case. |
|
RB Laurence Maroney (New
England) – Backup Sammy Morris is getting a
lot of carries – you might want to add him as insurance behind Maroney.
|
|
Chicago Defense
– Remember how the Bears defense slipped when safety Mike Brown went
down in 2005 and in 2006? Well, he’s out again – for the year! |
BEAR MARKET
|
WR Ronald Curry (Oakland)
– This just in – Curry looks like Josh McCown’s favorite target.
|
|
WR Antwaan Randle El
(Washington) – When RT Jon Jansen suffered a
season-ending injury against the Dolphins, TE Chris Cooley was used
more as a blocker to help with pass protection, and Randle El became
Jason Campbell’s security blanket. |
|
RB Derrick Ward (NY Giants)
– Ward, not Reuben Droughns, is the No. 2 back behind Brandon Jacobs,
and his 116 total yards and his 6.8-yards-per-carry average against
Dallas will not hurt his job security. |
|
QB Jay Cutler (Denver)
– It was the shakiest 300 yards this side of McCown, but at least we
know that the Broncos are not afraid to throw the ball.
|
|
WR Brandon Marshall (Denver)
– Marshall had a nice start as Rod Smith’s replacement.
|
|
K Mason Crosby (Green Bay)
– It was a sweet debut for the rookie. He went 3-for-3 on field
goals, including a 53-yarder and a game winner from 42 yards out.
|
|
Indianapolis Defense
– I thought the Colts would be lucky to hold the Saints under 30. No
offensive touchdowns was unbelievable. |
|
RB Kenton Keith (Indianapolis)
– Did your heart skip a few beats when Joseph Addai went down on the
first play of the season? Do yourself and your family a favor – pick
up Keith or upgrade your life insurance. |
IDP ALERT
|
LB Kirk Morrison (Oakland)
– An underrated performer who quietly puts up big numbers.
|
|
LB E.J. Henderson (Minnesota)
– It appears that moving back to the middle will not hurt his
production. |
|
LB Rocky McIntosh (Washington)
– In three career starts, this kid has averaged 10 tackles per game.
|
|
LB Barrett Rudd (Tampa Bay)
– Rudd had a huge Week 1, while Jeremiah Trotter was on the inactive
list. |
|
DE Mario Williams (Houston)
– After a disappointing rookie season, the former No. 1 pick started
to earn his money against the Chiefs. |
|
DT Mike Patterson
(Philadelphia) – Patterson racks up a lot of
tackles for a DT. |
|
LB Takeo Spikes (Philadelphia)
– The former Pro Bowler appears to be back to his old form.
|
|
S Atari Bigby (Green Bay)
– It appears that the Packers have solved their problems at strong
safety. |
STOCK MAY NEVER BE HIGHER
|
RB Chris Brown (Tennessee)
– Brown has always been productive when he
has been healthy, and he was fortunate enough in Week 1 to face a
Jacksonville defense that wore down and wilted in the heat. It’s hard
to imagine Brown staying healthy all season unless he continues to
share the workload with LenDale White, and sharing the workload
usually leads to mediocre numbers. |
|
WR Plaxico Burress (NY Giants)
– I doubt that the “Hefty Lefty” will find Burress for three scores
every week. |
|
QB Josh McCown (Oakland)
– If you watched this game, you had to be shocked by McCown’s final
numbers. He was so shaky in the first half that I was certain that he
would be pulled at halftime for Daunte Culpepper. It’s McCown’s job
for now, but don’t be surprised if he’s benched in a few weeks.
|
|
WR Drew Carter (Carolina)
– Coming off the bench, Carter caught two TD passes, but he had a
total of just three receptions for 19 yards. Are you really going to
start the Panthers’ No. 3 WR? |
|
WR Shaun McDonald (Detroit)
– McDonald followed up an excellent preseason with a nice Week 1, but
there are too many receiving options in Detroit for this No. 4
receiver to produce consistent numbers. |
|
TE Eric Johnson (New Orleans)
– The Saints aren’t going to win many ball games by dumping the ball
off to Johnson for 5-yard gains. |
STOCK MAY NEVER BE LOWER
|
QB Donovan McNabb
(Philadelphia) – Give him some time. Six
months ago, we weren’t even sure that he’d be playing at this point of
the season. |
|
QB Vince Young (Tennessee)
– Chris Brown and LenDale White won’t rush for more than 200 yards
every week. |
|
QB Marc Bulger
and RB Steven Jackson (St. Louis) – At least the Rams scored in
Week 1 – last year, the Panthers shut them out. And I wouldn’t worry
too much about Orlando Pace’s season-ending injury. The left tackle
missed half of last season, and the Rams did fine. |
|
RB Maurice Jones-Drew
(Jacksonville) – It was a lousy start, but
at least Jones-Drew did more than Fred Taylor. |
|
RB Reggie Bush (New Orleans)
– Trade Chris Brown for Bush, and see who is smiling at the end of the
season. |
|
WR Lee Evans (Buffalo)
– He got off to a slow start last season, too. No worries. |
|
WRs Anquan Boldin
and Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona) – The Cards can’t afford to keep
playing that conservatively. |
|
| |
|
| |
|
