Wrap Up - Week 5

Start’em

Kyle Orton, Bears. Once in a while predicting Fantasy you just know a guy is going to have a great game. As soon as I saw Orton’s match up against the Lions, I thought he would be a great waiver wire pick up and play this week. Orton finished the game with 334 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. Orton is improving and has value with more than half of the season left to play.

Matt Schaub / Sage Rosenfels, Texans. Rosenfels played great for about 55 minutes. He had 246 yards passing with a 5 yard TD pass to Andre Johnson. Johnson had a monster game. Rosenfels also had 16 rushing yards and one interception. The two huge fumbles at the end of the game killed the Texans. I like Rosenfels’ numbers, but the huge mistakes at the end are too much to overcome. Call this a tie.

Ronnie Brown, Dolphins. Was the Patriots’ game a fluke? No chance. Brown and the Dolphins came up big against San Diego. Brown lined up in the shotgun 12 more times this week and averaged over 4 yards per play. He finished the game with 133 combined rushing and receiving yards including a 5 yard rushing touchdown out of the direct snap formation. You must start Brown every week.

Ryan Grant, Packers. Grant entered Week 5 as the 56th ranked running back. In most leagues, he was a very high draft pick. A great sign for Grant owners is that he was not listed on the Packers’ injury report this week. He ended up with 83 combined rushing and receiving yards and had 18 carries. Do not give up on Grant yet. I watched the whole game against the Falcons; and Grant’s explosive running style is very close to being back in action.

Eddie Royal, Broncos. Royal sprained his ankle on a punt return during the 3rd quarter. Up to that point, he had 3 catches for 23 yards. The big question will be whether or not this nagging injury keeps Royal out of the line up. Clearly, this pick was a loss.

Sit’em

Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks. Very poor outing for Hasselbeck. I am telling you dealing with New York family issues has to be a factor. Hasselbeck may have suffered a knee injury against the Giants. He threw for 105 yards and had an interception. Hasselbeck is a candidate to be released if you are adding a new player this week.

Larry Johnson, Chiefs. Ouch. Johnson had a huge game last week, but his performance against the Panthers has to be one of the worse in his career. He had seven rushing attempts for two yards. His statistics are so low that I had to write out the numbers. You really have to start or sit Johnson based on the Chiefs’ opponent each week.

Lee Evans, Bills. Evans proved me wrong for the second time this year. Evans had two receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. He added 22 rushing yards. His 87 yard bomb from JP Losman was one of the lone bright spots for the Bills on Sunday. Losman and Evans are a good combination, so if Trent Edwards can not play, keep playing Evans.

Greg Jennings, Packers. Will Aaron Rodgers play? Rodgers played and played great. He clearly was injured, but made some great throws. Jennings caught a 25 yard touchdown pass and finished with 4 catches for 87 yards. Jennings has become one of the best Fantasy players in the NFL. I will not doubt him the rest of the season unless, of course, Rodgers starts missing games.

Minnesota Vikings Defense. The Vikings’ defense is playing well after a shaky start. For a brief moment, I thought the Saints had a chance to score on every possession. Antoine Winfield (OSU product) made some big plays. Vikings look like they are going to win this game.

Totals: 5-4-1 (Overall 26-18-4)

My Picks

Wins: Panthers, Bears, Dolphins, Giants, Redskins, Cardinals, Bengals, Steelers
Losses: Packers, Colts, Niners, Saints
Push: Titans, Broncos
Total: 8-4-2 (Overall 43-28-3)

Fantasy Games. In my two leagues, I had great match ups against teams that had struggled so far this season. In my Dallas league, I was crushed. At one point, the score was 79-27. I closed the gap some, but I need a 40 point night from Reggie Bush to win the game. In my Atlanta league, I played an owner that had yet to win a game this year. In his defense, he had lots of guys on byes last week. His team played well and my guys were terrible. Marion Barber has not scored a touchdown in three weeks. Right now, the game is tied 60-60, but he has the Minnesota Vikings defense. He might have blundered by talking trash on the message board about getting a win, because the Saints might just put up a ton of points in tonight’s game. Hopefully, Reggie Bush morphs into Gale Sayers and scores about 5 touchdowns in this game.

Steeler Football. Why does it seem like every game the Steelers play is a rivalry game? Here is the answer--when the Steelers go on the road, their fans travel as well. When you pay a couple of grand for your season tickets and then you have to sit by Steelers’ fans, you are not happy. Add to that fact that Steelers’ fans that travel are probably talking trash in the stands and you have a rivalry game every week.

Baseball Playoffs. I just watched Kevin Youkilis make a great play at 3rd base against Torii Hunter and the Angels. This post season is the coming out party for Youkilis. One night he plays first base and the next night he is making All Star caliber plays at third base. Great camera shot of Youkilis taking deep breaths and trying to catch his breath after that great play. Great athlete, great ball player. A final question on a baseball subject, is there anything in sports more demoralizing than a dominating starting pitcher?