Injuries….that little three syllable word that strikes fear into the hearts
of fantasy football owners. This past week was a sobering one for many in
the fantasy football world. Let’s take a moment to analyze a couple of the
big injuries and what we can do about it.
Donovan McNabb – The year’s biggest injury occurred to McNabb this weekend.
McNabb tore his right ACL and is out for up to 12 months. HC Andy Reid is
going to have to choose from Jeff Garcia or AJ Feely. Whichever
quarterback Reid decides on won’t be able to put up the kinds of numbers that
McNabb did. In fact, we think that this injury downgrades the Eagles
receivers but it also means that the Eagles will rely heavily on RB Brian Westbrook. Last week, Westbrook’s production increased when McNabb went
down and we think that trend will continue throughout the year.
LaMont Jordan – Jordan tore his MCL and he too will
be out for the rest of the year. Justin Fargas will be asked to step in
and become the starting running back. The Raiders haven’t run the ball
well this year and they will be without starting tackle Robert Gallery,
but this is a chance to grab a starting running back. After week 12, when
the Raiders face the Chargers, they will face a few defenses in
Houston,
Cincinnati and St. Louis that have trouble stopping the run.
Fargas could give you a quality start in one or two of those games.
Marques Colston, Kevin Jones – Both players suffered ankle sprains and are
considered questionable going into this week’s game. We consider it
unlikely that they will play this week and they both could be out a couple of
weeks. You might want to grab their backups as there could be some points
to be had from them. Devery Henderson filled in superbly last week when
Colston went down grabbing 9 passes for 169 yards. Arlen Harris looks to
be the guy to fill Jones spot and although we don’t like the Lions schedule
(they play Miami, Minnesota, New
England and Chicago),
Harris may get you a couple of TDs down the stretch.
Here are a few players that you might want to take a look at plugging into
your starting lineup this week to either turn around your luck or keep your
success going! They may not be the top names in fantasy football, but most are
the ‘in between’ guys that you might have to make a tough decision on. The
good fantasy owner is able to pick these players out from a crowd and stick them
in their lineup for fantasy success!
QB – Eli Manning – Manning and the Giants travel to Tennessee to take on the Titans. The
Titans are exactly what the slumping Manning needs. They have given up 18
passing touchdowns, second most in the league. Manning hasn’t done well
the last two weeks but he was up against the Bears and the Jaguars, two of the
better defenses in the league. We think that this is a must win for the
Giants and Manning will lead them to a victory with a 250 yard 2 touchdown
performance.
RB – Frank Gore – Gore has been on fire this year and he now ranks as the 6th
fantasy running back. He has over 1000 yards already and he looks to add
to that total this week against the Rams. The Rams rank 31st versus the
run giving up an average of 153.2 yards a game. We think that Gore might
get 153 by himself and we think that he could find the endzone this week,
something that he needs to do more if he wants to be considered one of the
greats.
RB – DeAngelo Williams – Williams is back from an injury that sidelined him
for a couple of weeks. He got a chance to be the feature back when DeShaun
Foster suffered a hyper extended elbow and he didn’t look back. Williams
rushed for a season high 114 yards. Foster may not play this week, but
even if he did we think that Williams is ready to handle a full work load
against a Washington
defense that gives up a little more than 121 rushing yards a game.
WR – Joe Horn – Mr. Horn has been on a tear lately. He has 4 touchdowns
in his last four games. The Saints are going to need him more than ever
with the injury to Marques Colston. The Saints travel to
Atlanta
to tangle with the slumping Falcons. The Falcons now rank 29th against the
pass and dropping. The Saints have the number one passing offense in the
league and if they want to stay there they are going to need a big game from
Horn.
WR – Braylon Edwards – Braylon has quietly moved up the fantasy rankings this
season to now rank 25th for wide receivers. In his last three games he has
either 100 yards or he’s scored a touchdown. This week the Browns
entertain the Bengals and their high octane offense. Expect to see plenty
of passes being tossed about and if week two is an indicator, Edwards should be
very involved. Edwards had 110 receiving yards in that game. Oh by
the way, Cincinnati ranks dead last against the pass
giving up 254 yards a game through the air.
TE – Jeremy Shockey – Shockey was the lone bright spot Monday night against
the Jaguars. He was able to catch 7 passes for 82 yards on 13 targets.
We expect the Giants to get back on track against
Tennessee
and Shockey is clearly the number two option in the passing game. His 5
touchdowns are second on the team.
Def – Carolina – The
Carolina
defensive front harassed the Rams Marc Bulger to the tune of 7 sacks. This
week they travel to Washington. Expect the pressure to
continue only this time they will be attacking Jason Campbell. Campbell will be making only his second start
of his professional career. The Redskins receiving corps has been very
disappointing, and they are without Clinton Portis. It will very difficult for
the Redskins to move the ball against the 10th ranked
Carolina
defense.