Regrets Galore...Oh, To Get A Do-Over....

If you’re like me, seeing Brian Westbrook put up solid and even sometimes amazing performances week after week is getting just plain painful. That’s because I had the stupidity present in August to draft Rudi Johnson in the first round of my biggest draft instead of taking an available Westbrook. I know I’m not alone. For the Johnson owner, the Laurence Maroney owner, the Shaun Alexander owner, the Travis Henry owner....every week at the Monday morning water cooler centers around the same thing if indeed you drafted one of those guys when Westbrook was still at large: Regret and frustration. Maybe it is Westbrook’s size that makes us disrespect him. Maybe it’s that he usually battles with injuries this time of year. I don’t know about you, but I’m out of excuses. If you had the foresight to take Westbrook in your draft this year, you’re a happy camper this morning. 183 total yards and 3 touchdowns tend to create a little fantasy euphoria.

Somebody on the FFToday Board mentioned that he’s one of the most underrated players of his generation, both in terms of his fantasy value and his value as an all-purpose NFL running back. I’ll buy that. He’s as reliable as eating a bowl of Raisin Bran (if you don’t know what that means, you will some day).

Westbrook Was The Stud Of The Day, But There Were Others...

Mister Mayagi stated in the Karate Kid (which I caught this weekend on t.v. for about the 80th time in my life) that if a person performed the “crane technique” correctly, “No can defense”. Well, there were a couple of guys who fit that label on Sunday that deserve a little press. Let’s take a look at a few of these guys:

Jeremy Shockey - 12 catches, 129 yards, 1 TD

If you caught the Cowboys-Giants game, you saw a lot of this guy. Shockey has had a fairly quiet year in 2007 up until today. The Cowboys simply had no answer for him on Sunday. I don’t know if Burress’s injury forced him to be the focal point or not, but Shockey simply made great catch after great catch on Sunday. If I’m Tom Coughlin, I’m going to try to feed this guy the ball a lot in the next seven weeks.....he’s an underutilized weapon and a guy you’re going to want in your lineup down the stretch.

Ben Roethlisberger - 278 passing yards, 49 rushing yards, 3 total TDs

Yes, I know we just gave Ben some love here at the Buzz a week or so ago, and I also realize that he was playing against the “No Can Defense” Browns, but the guy RAN for a 30-yard touchdown. Chances are you drafted Roethlisberger or Brett Favre to be steady, reliable backups for the season but both have become stars, front and center.

Warrick Dunn - 140 total yards, 1 TD

It’s quite possible that today was Warrick Dunn’s last day in the sun, but if you needed him to fill in for a usual starting RB on a bye, you can’t help but tip your hat to the old man. Dunn has always been a poor man’s Brian Westbrook....he was again today, but I bet if you’ll take it if you were fortunate enough to have him in your starting lineup today.

Shayne Graham - 7 field goals

A Rob Bironas impersonation...Graham is all you need when you’re up against that stellar Ravens offense.

Other somewhat obscure heroes from Sunday: James Thrash, Leonard Pope, and Ruvell Martin.

So Much For Those Stellar Run Defenses...

I was under the impression that you just couldn’t run on the Minnesota Vikings or the Tennessee Titans. Don’t tell that to Ryan Grant or Maurice Jones-Drew. I’ll bet a lot of you guys, if you had other options, pulled one of these guys from the lineup on Sunday for “safer” options. While that’s understandable, I don’t think you can leave Maurice Jones-Drew on the bench much longer...no matter who the opponent is. Jones-Drew has quietly been meeting preseason expectations now for several weeks and if your trade deadline is approaching, I would suggest trying to make a play for him. A bold Buzz guarantee: Jones-Drew will finish in the top eight in points at the RB position by year’s end.

If I were you, I would chalk up the Titans and Vikings run D days as an anomaly for now....but it bears watching.

Post-Patriots Hangover?

As I write this, the Colts and Chargers are engaged in a pretty solid fourth quarter tussle, but Peyton has thrown six interceptions. The Colts came out pretty sluggish, but have righted the ship seemingly here in the second half. Still, I hope if you have Manning that your league doesn’t penalize heavily for turnovers.

It’s hard to defend Manning in an instance like tonight, but it is worth noting that he’s throwing to the likes of Craphonso Thorpe...one of the all-time great names in fantasy football. That has to play a role in this madness.

Random Buzz

· I know Cedric Benson likely got you 15 points on Sunday, but less than 3 yards a carry against the Raiders? I’m thinking today’s as good as it’s going to get for the very disappointing Benson.

· Is Kevin Curtis one of the most frustrating guys to try to figure out or what?

· This just in: The Minnesota Vikings need a quarterback.

· Could Marc Bulger be in for a terrific second half of the 2007 season, fantasy-wise? Or was today just the “dome effect”? I’m curious to hear from you guys this week on this one......

· Interesting performance by Selvin Young today. If you own both Henry and Young, it might be nice at this point if Henry would just go ahead and get suspended. Guys who own both Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson feel your pain.

Well, that’s a wrap on the Buzz for this week. Hope your team is starting to peak as we move towards the home stretch for most fantasy regular seasons. Here’s hoping also that injuries to everybody’s two favorite rookies, Adrian Peterson & Marshawn Lynch, aren’t too serious. We’ll have all 32 teams on the field for the remainder of the season....looking forward to that. Have a great week, God Bless, and run Frank Gore, run...