Fantasy Football's Real and Surreal of Week Three

(All you basketball fans: Don't forget to check out my player stat projections here. [/shameless promotion])

Whoops.

I guess I forgot to do a Real and Surreal article last week. Aside from the Denver/San Diego finish, the Dallas/Philly Monday Night game, Indianapolis' comeback, and Brandon Marshall's, Darren McFadden's, Aaron Rodger's, Santana Moss', and Jason Campbell's big games, there were no big stories.

...But back to last week.

Denver shouldn't have won for the second straight week (although I still think they will make the Super Bowl), Johnnie Lee Higgins had an 84-yard touchdown reception, and Michael Turner had another nice week.

Here are week three's real and surreal.

Headline: Brian Griese throws 67 times as the Buccaneers win in overtime

He would have had only 215 yards had he thrown only 35 times. He had more interceptions than touchdowns. Consider this one surreal, as his stats were bloated by his 67 attempts in a game where the Bucs only ran 17 times. Nevertheless, Antonio Bryant and Ike Hilliard are still nice number-four wide receivers in standard leagues.

Headline: Julius Jones runs all over St. Louis, amassing 140 yards on only 22 carries

Although he's had easy matchups on the year (Buffalo, San Fran, St. Louis in weeks one through three), Jones has averaged more than 100 yards per game on the ground, including 130, a 5.6 YPC, and two touchdowns the past two weeks. Yeah, he won't get you the receiving yards, and yeah, he's not a sexy name, but he gets Tampa Bay, Green Bay, and the 49ers in three of the next four weeks, and all are in the bottom half in the league in rushing yards allowed per game. He's for real.

Headline: Ronnie Browns scores four touchdowns and passes for another as the Dolphins beat the Pats

Brown had 113 yards on 17 carries, but 62 yards came on one play—a 3.19 YPC if you exclude that one carry. The trick plays are out to the public, and you can bet that defensive coordinators will plan on stopping the direct snaps to Brown in the next few weeks. Ricky Williams had only three less total yards than Brown, and Williams' longest play was a 28-yard run. I'd stick Brown with a surreal tag, but Ricky Williams is real.