Fantasy Football Hits and Misses
Players to Give up on, Players to Give a Chance to
Which players should fantasy owners seriously think about dumping, and which players have been pleasant surprises that should be claimed on fantasy league waiver wires? Here are four guys, two from each category:
JaMarcus Russell, Raiders: Oakland is obviously not prepared to let Russell loose on the NFL yet. The Raiders are bringing him along slowly. Forget about taking baby steps. Russell has not been allowed out of the crib, or even the womb. Russell has not completed a pass longer than 24 yards and is only averaging 21 pass attempts per game. Oakland looks like its going with a run-first, pass-in-emergencies style of offense. Complicating matters is a Raiders receiving corps that doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of the slowest secondaries. Mark my words, Russell’s first 30-yard completion of the season will be on a screen pass to Darren McFadden, not on a long strike to Javon Walker or Ronald Curry. It would be nice if Oakland would allow Russell to play a little more freely like Green Bay has done with Aaron Rodgers in the early going, but it does not seem like that will happen anytime soon.
Darren Sproles, Chargers: The signs were there in 2007 that LaDainian Tomlinson’s heavy workload was finally catching up to him. Turns out Antonio Gates’ turf toe is contagious. Tomlinson is battling the same problem, and who knows how much this could hamper the big-time scamperer during the season. That means scatback Sproles, known for his kickoff returning and third-down receiving, could be benefitting from 10-15 carries per game before long. And with Sproles’ breakaway speed and open-field ability, 10-15 carries is all he needs to rack up 100 yards and a score. He had a 66-yard touchdown reception and 102-yard kickoff return TD against Denver, making him the darling in distance fantasy leagues where longer scores garner bonus points.
Leon Washington, Jets: Looks like New York’s other football team prefers to run Thomas Jones up the middle rather than let Washington run around the end or have Brett Favre throw the ball deep. Washington was making the elderly Patriots miss tackles early in the Jets’ loss against the Pats last weekend, but he was only handed the ball twice compared to Jones’ 17 carries. The week before against Miami Jones had 22 rushes while Washington had just six. Unless Washington gets involved in the offense more his fantasy worth will be as low as a backup kicker's.
Sammy Morris, Patriots: Laurence Maroney had a chance to become New England’s full-time tailback last season. What did he do? He was injured on and off all year long, and when he did play he would fall down when somebody coughed on him. Morris was the better running back and could have had a great fantasy campaign if he did not suffer a serious sternum injury that shut him down the rest of the way. Now Maroney is banged-up again, and with New England running more and passing less because of the Tom Brady injury, Morris could be in line for extra carries and touchdown tries. Morris' toughest competition for carries doesn't even come from Maroney. Former fantasy stalwart and current third-stringer Lamont Jordan will be the one to watch when it comes to stealing rushing attempts.
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles