Fantasy Football Today - fantasy football rankings, cheatsheets, and information
A Fantasy Football Community!




Create An Account  |  Advertise  |  Contact      







Staff Writer
Email Joe

Joe's Articles

Steppin' Up Steppin Down
Week 14
12/9/06

Quarterbacks

Steppin' Up

Joey Harrington, MIA: Harrington replaced a disappointing Daunte Culpepper in Week 5 against the New England Patriots--an opponent he'll be facing again this Sunday. In that first start of the season for the former first round pick, he threw for 232 yards and completed 63.4% of his passes on 41 attempts. It would have been a fine outing for the 5th-year vet in his Dolphins debut, if it weren't for his lack of a touchdown pass and two interceptions. Since then however, Harrington has proven to be a capable starter for Miami and fantasy owners alike. In 8 starts this season, the one time Detroit Lions QB has completed 59.2% of his passes, thrown 11 touchdowns, and averaged 248 yards passing per game. While there's no question Harrington is a risky start this Sunday, he should be able to surpass the 200-yard mark once again against the Patriots. If he is able to connect with one of his targets in the end zone while keeping his turnovers down, he'll provide another productive, if unspectacular, outing in fantasy leagues. He could also prove useful for owners in a pinch at the QB position during Weeks 15 and 16, when he goes against the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets.

Steppin' Down

Rex Grossman, CHI: Grossman's Cinderella season has come to an astonishing halt over the past three weeks. Having begun the year completing 57.2% of his passes, throwing 17 touchdowns, and averaging 210 passing yards an outing through the first 10 games of the season, his numbers have taken a nose dive recently. In Chicago's last 3 games, Grossman has thrown 6 interceptions and just 1 touchdown pass. He's completed 32 of 75 attempts for a completion percentage of 46.2%, and averaged a miserable 109 yards per game through the air during that span. Had these disappointing outings come against the more elite defenses in the league, there may not be as much concern with Grossman going forward. As it stands however, the only formidable defense the Bears faced during their last three games was that of the New England Patriots. If Grossman gets himself back on track, he should be a gem of a starter in coming weeks against the Rams, Buccaneers and Lions, before closing out the regular season against the Green Bay Packers. His recent woes however are reason for owners to be hesitant before inserting him back into their starting line-up.

Running Backs

Steppin' Up

Tatum Bell, DEN: After missing 3 of Denver's previous 4 games with turf toe injuries in both feet, Tatum Bell returned to action last week against the Seattle Seahawks. He finished the game with 23 carries for 133 yards, and looked to be back to the form that had him on pace for career highs prior to the set back. Before attempting to play through the pain in Weeks 8 and 10, Bell had averaged 4.7 yards per carry on 124 attempts. In 3 of those 6 games, Shanahan ran the 3rd-year back more than 20 times. With no reports of Bell experiencing any pain following Sunday night's performance, it appears safe to insert him into your starting line-up, and expect him to carry nearly 20 times a game the remainder of the season. He'll face a tough run defense in San Diego this Sunday, so consider other options if you have them, but he should fair quite well in following weeks against the Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers.

Jerious Norwood, ATL: The 3rd round pick out of Mississippi State had been impressing Atlanta's coaching staff since camp opened in late July. In fact, he made enough of an impression early on, that the Falcons felt comfortable trading away T.J. Duckett, in order to use the rookie as a second option to starting tailback, Warrick Dunn. After last Sunday's 9 carry, 107 yard, 1 TD performance against the Redskins , Norwood has now totaled 518 yards on just 77 attempts--an amazing 6.7 yards per carry this season. While Norwood's lack of carries on a regular basis keeps him from consideration as a starter in fantasy leagues, he should be owned in most of them and could help you pull out a victory if you need to start him due to a lack of better options on your roster.

Steppin' Down

Leon Washington, NYJ: Despite a four game stretch near the middle of the season, in which he carried 69 times for 339 yards (4.9 YPC) and 2 touchdowns, Washington has failed to emerge as the featured back in the Jets backfield. In four games played since then, the rookie out of Florida State has averaged just 8.5 carries and 28.5 rushing yards per game. Despite last weeks outing in which he scored his 3rd touchdown of the year, and combined for 66 yards on the ground and through the air, Washington can't be considered any better than a #4 RB at this point in time. The return of 2nd year back Cedric Houston three weeks ago has also eaten into the number of touches Washington has been getting in games. If there are better options available in your leagues waiver wire, don't hesitate to drop Washington in order to acquire them.

Wide Receivers

Steppin' Up

Reche Caldwell, NE: Despite a slow start to the season with his new team, Caldwell has become a frequent target of quarterback Tom Brady, lately. Over the first 5 games of the season, the former San Diego Charger had posted just 10 receptions for 118 yards and no touchdowns. In the 7 games since then however, he has scored 3 times, averaging just over 5 receptions, and 65 receiving yards per game. While Caldwell is far from being a must start every week, he makes for a productive #3 WR in point per reception leagues, and a reliable #3-4 WR in leagues that score based solely on yardage and touchdowns.

Michael Jenkins, ATL: Michael Jenkins' reception and yardage totals aren't all that impressive (32 receptions, 365 yards), but he has been a frequent visitor of the end zone as of late. Having scored a touchdown in 5 of the Falcons last 7 games, the 6'4", 212 pound target has raised his total to 6 for the year, with 4 games remaining. Due to his low totals in the other receiving categories, the 3rd-year vet will remain hit-or-miss the rest of the season, but he's worth owning as a back-up in case one of your starters goes down with an injury.

Steppin' Down

Muhsin Muhammad, CHI: The recent struggles of Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, have also been effecting the production we've been seeing from his wide receivers. Muhammad began the year with 24 receptions in the teams first 4 games, totaling 324 yards with 1 touchdown. Since then, he had his moments during a 3-game stretch from Weeks 8 through 10 (14 receptions, 230 yards, 3 TDs), but he's also had 6 games in which he failed to record any more than 3 receptions. His last 3 outings in particular have been brutal--totaling just 6 receptions for 71 yards and no scores. Like Grossman, Muhammad should bounce back over the remaining 4 games on the schedule when the Bears face the Rams, Buccaneers, Lions and Packers, but if the QB continues to struggle, it's likely his receivers will as well.