Fantasy Football: Monday News and Notes

Collin HagerSep 22, 2008

The week that was has left us with not much more insight than we had at this time last week. Injuries and some surprise performances came out, and owners are left to wonder what it all means.

Let's break it down.

Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb are both heading to the MRI machine today for their various injuries. Westbrook left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. McNabb supposedly has a deep bruise of his right pectoral. He was able to return, but, without Westbrook, the offense sputtered. He makes that team go. No doubt, Pittsburgh has a solid defense, but there was much more to it than that. It is not expected that McNabb will miss any time, but we've seen this story with Westbrook before. Beware.
You knew this was only a matter of time, but Brady Quinn is being told to be at the ready to run the Browns offense. A third straight lackluster performance has forced the Cleveland hand here. The Browns were dancing this way when they made the call to extend Anderson while having a number one pick backing him up. It sure looks like they could have used the trade to improve almost every other aspect of a sad offense.
Alright, let's not all go out and proclaim Ronnie Brown as the be-all-and-end-all. He had a fantastic game against a defense that had no clue what was going on. Miami's run game was close to being successful in each of the last two weeks, but they are not going to run for 200 yards a game. Just isn't going to happen. I'm sure there are some over-the-top owners that will overpay for Brown, so see what you can get. He's going to be fine, he's just still an RB2 option at best.
Regardless as to if you own Fred Taylor or not, you need to recognize that Jones-Drew is the guy that gets things done. He managed to account for over 160 yards and a touchdown. Didn't matter if it was through the air or on the ground, Jones-Drew was impressive in both aspects, and he adds kick return yards to boot. Look for him as an even more solid play as we start to enter the bye week stretch.
Want a prediction for tonight? The Jets will take the training wheels off of Favre. They spent all week getting criticized for a series of plays at the goal line and now will let the quarterback do what he was brought in to do. This is both for better and for worse, however you want to take it.
Jason Taylor will miss the game against Dallas next week. That will hamper an already weaker Washington pass rush, so look for Dallas to take advantage. Dallas has been able to throw on almost everyone this season, and the game against the Redskins shouldn't be looked at as an exception.
There are certainly some defenses that we need to re-evaluate here. The Denver defense has been as awful as could be imagined, and Seattle hasn't justified the reputation that they had to start the season as well. Dallas and New England have struggled mightily as well. The good thing, though, is that there have been pleasant surprises. Particularly, we've seen a lot of success in Tennessee, and they continue to show an easier schedule than not. Solid Week Four matchup for them. Baltimore has been good, but also far-exceeded expectations. They're still available in 20 percent of leagues. Also, looking for matchups, you should note that Atlanta has put together a few good games as well.
If we don't believe that Ronnie Brown is going to duplicate his performance, do you think we feel Brian Griese will? Griese was incredibly good, registering over 400 yards passing on 38 completions and garnering two touchdowns. This, though, is likely the highlight for his season. Don't expect more of the same from a team that is going to be riding defense to wins.
I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong, and I was beyond wrong about Matt Cassel and the Patriots using comments from Joey Porter as motivation. The entire team looked awful, but don't be fooled when people say that Cassel looked alright. He missed open receivers, could have been picked off two or three more times, and continually led his receivers into tight spots. Sure, his line wasn't great, but the offense's ineptitude was more on him than anything else. Cassel isn't going to lead many teams to wins, he needs help from his defense to do that, and this just underscored that point.
Larger concern with Cassel: His inability to get Randy Moss the football. There are teams that spent first round picks for this guy that are biting their nails right now. Moss didn't sign on for this, and at times yesterday looked disinterested. He only caught four balls for 25 total yards. Sad, sad totals for a number one wide receiver. In essence, the one thing Cassel should be able to do is get this guy the ball. It should be virtually a primary focus for the offense. The dinks and dunks only work when you have someone to stretch the field.
The use of Tyler Thigpen at quarterback in Kansas City meant a focus on the run game and an emergence of Larry Johnson. Apparently, rumors of his death last week were greatly exaggerated. Don't let this be a huge point to hang a hat on. Atlanta has struggled off and on and tends to relax far too much when they get a comfortable lead.
Calling another spade a spade, Le'Ron McClain is the backup to McGahee. I'm going to stop calling out Ray Rice for any other reason than a deep league keeper. McClain is going to be the workhorse, apparently, when McGahee can't go. It's how it went in Week One, and how it went yesterday as well. Grab him as your backup.
Steve Slaton couldn't punch the ball into the end zone to make it more of a game against the Titans yesterday, but 116 yards for the rookie and a touchdown isn't a bad day at the office. Slaton wasn't that type of back in college, so using him as that in the pros doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. There weren't many other options, so we won't hold this against him.
Rudi Johnson saw a much more action in Week Three for Detroit, and provided a boost to the offense with 83 rushing yards, over 40 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Look for his role to expand, especially if he gives the Lions a semblance of an offense.
Pierre Thomas continues to add to his touchdown totals. If you can use him for these type of situations, it's getting to the point he could be good for one of these a week. Thomas just finds a way to force himself into the end zone and has been able to capitalize on the chances he's given. We haven't necessarily seen much of Deuce as a result.