Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Weekly Fantasy Roundup

The Bad Guy (formerly Waiver Wire Master) is a fantasy sports expert and will be writing a column once a week (Wednesdays or Thursdays) with whatever expertise he feels like giving us. Feel free to rip his garbage picks or praise his good calls. Last week things went a little better, let's see what he's got for us this week. Enjoy!

If You Have The Balls to Bench Your Studs, Don't Start.....

QB Peyton Manning (Colts): Through the first six games of the season, Peyton has a QB rating of 80.0 and a completion percentage of 60.7 - both career lows if you discard his rookie season. Maybe the two offseason knee surgeries he underwent to repair an infected bursa sac are still affecting him, maybe it’s the start of a decline to an incredible NFL career – who knows – all I know is that you should not be starting the former Super Bowl MVP this Sunday at Tennessee. Here’s a stat for you - The Titans have allowed exactly ONE passing TD all season, and none in their previous five games. If that didn’t, suck out all of the optimism you might have had about Manning’s Week 8 match up, then I don’t know what will. DON’T START HIM!

QB Eli Manning (Giants): The youngest Manning brother also has a tough match up this week, as New York travels to Heinz Field to take on the NFL’s #1 ranked pass defense. Pittsburgh’s secondary is allowing a league low 158.7 passing yards per game, and will look to continue their domination against the Giants’ QB. Manning was great in his first four games, but has been borderline horrible the past couple of weeks. He threw three interceptions in Week 6 at Cleveland, struggled again in Week 7 at home against a less than respectable 49ers’ secondary, and should continue being ridiculously bad in Week 8 against Troy Polamalu and the Steelers’ tumultuous D.


RB Larry Johnson (Chiefs): This former fantasy monster has been extremely disappointing so far in 2008, and things don’t seem to be getting any better for Johnson any time soon. LJ was benched in Week 7 by coach Herm Edwards after he was late for team meetings, and now has to go up against the Jets’ 5th ranked rush D in Week 8. New York is allowing less than 85 rushing yards per game, and less than 65 per game at home. More bad news - there is speculation that the league may get involved and take action against Johnson for his legal troubles. If LJ does indeed get suspended, definitely don’t start either of the KC backup RBs, as they won’t do anything but suck against Kris Jenkins, Shaun Ellis, and the rest of the J-E-T-S defensive line.


RB Marshawn Lynch (Bills): I might be going out on a limb here, but I don’t see Lynch having a good day in Miami this Sunday. The Bills’ RB has struggled away from Ralph Wilson Stadium, rushing for a combined total of 160 yards and one TD in Buffalo’s three road games, an average of just over 50 yards per contest (that’s pretty fucking bad). The Dolphins rush D has improved tremendously this year, allowing only 97.5 rush yards per game compared to over 150 per game last season. Backup RB Fred Jackson has been getting more and more carries every week, stealing nine carries away from him Lynch this past week. All of this does not bode well for the owner of what could be the ugliest player profile picture of all time.

WR Roddy White (Falcons): This future Pro Bowl WR might want to think about changing his last name from White to Gold, as he has been more valuable than 24 karats (pure gold) so far this season. Things are bound to change in Week 8 though, as Mr. White faces a Phili D that has yet to allow a receiving touchdown to a WR at home. Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel will be all over White, who should struggle to get off the line and create separation. The Eagles will frustrate rookie QB Matt Ryan by blitzing the shit out of him, a game plan that will ultimately not allow White enough time to get downfield and put up the stat line that his owners have become accustomed to in recent weeks.


WR Roy Williams (Cowboys): The blockbuster trade that sent Williams to the Cowboys last week was supposed to put them over the top, but there is a reason why you don’t usually hear about superstars switching teams in the middle of a season. It takes time for a player to adjust to a new team and learn the playbook, so don’t expect Williams to do any damage for at least a couple more weeks. QB Brad Johnson looked Williams’ way ONE time last week in St. Louis, which is only one more look than I got in Week 7. The fact that Dallas’ starting quarterback Tony Romo is expected to be out again doesn’t help matters, as it will take that much longer for Williams to develop chemistry with his QB. The Tampa Bay secondary isn’t too shabby either - they have only allowed one passing TD in their past three games.

4 comments:

btwitty said...

gutsy call on not starting larry johnson. i also don't see him having a huge week on the inactive list.

Ethan Samson said...

guys - also don't start tom brady today. even though he's a stud.

a said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
a said...

Although most of your picks this week are probably dead on, you are forgetting that Jim Kleinsasser is probably the ugliest player in the NFL...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=1796

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