Buhner.com Fantasy Football
Week 5 Recap By Dan
Kauffman, Staff Writer,
Buhner.com
A look back at Week 5 (not counting
the Monday night game)
The Good ...
Rich Gannon, QB, Oakland:
All Gannon did was throw for 357 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
He’s officially changing his name to “Ageless” Rich Gannon. This guy has gone
too low in my fantasy drafts each of the last three years.
Drew Bledsoe, QB, Buffalo:
After another huge day (417 yards passing, two touchdowns), Bledsoe remains on
pace to obliterate the NFL record for yards passing in a season. Three
interceptions dilute what was otherwise a sensational performance.
Donovan McNabb, QB,
Philadelphia: He woke up disappointed on Monday, but his fantasy owners got
a good night’s sleep. That’s what happens when your QB rushes for 100 yards and
a touchdown. Oh yeah, he threw for 230 yards and two TDs, too. In my league,
that’s 33 points (not subtracting five points for sacks). In my league, 33
points out of the QB position usually means you win.
Brian Griese, QB, Denver:
26-for-35, 316 yards, two touchdowns and, perhaps most importantly, only one
pick. Steve Beuerlein supporters continue to be quieted.
Priest Holmes, RB, Kansas
City: Anyone who still isn’t a believer should quit fantasy football now.
Holmes keeps rolling along. 152 yards rushing, 81 yards receiving, two
touchdowns ... for a guy who was drafted with the 22nd overall pick in my
14-team league this year! (One more pick, and I would have had him, damnit!)
Something to think about ... Marshall Faulk was a very good back in Indy, but it
wasn’t until he arrived in St. Louis under Dick Vermeil that Faulk’s stock
exploded. Holmes was steady, but far from spectacular with the Ravens. Perhaps
Vermeil deserves more credit than he gets.
Charlie Garner, RB, Oakland:
177 total yards and two touchdowns (One of more than 50 yards). Whoever picked
this guy (likely in the fifth or sixth round, if not later) in your draft should
be arrested for stealing. He’s elevated his game, and is clearly the main
backfield weapon for the undefeated Raiders.
Corey Dillon, RB,
Cincinnati: 164 yards rushing and two touchdowns (One 67 yards), plus 21
yards receiving. An encouraging performance when doubt was starting to creep
into the minds of Dillon owners, even if he did his damage against the Colts.
There’ll be no complaining about him this week. Deuce McAllister, RB, New
Orleans: 123 total yards, two touchdowns. Deuce continues to make fantasy owners
who took him (many in the early-to-mid second round, if not later) proud. He’s
been consistent — the good kind of consistent — and praise doesn’t get much
higher than that from fantasy football owners.
Jamal Lewis, RB, Baltimore:
Would have been even better had he made a trip into the end zone, but still,
owners who gambled plugging in Lewis this week (or those who had to due to bye
or injury) were handsomely rewarded with 187 rushing yards and 26 more
receiving.
Clinton Portis, RB, Denver:
He looks like the real deal, the latest proof being a 20-carry, 102-yard display
and an 8-yard TD catch to cement the deal. Much like Garner, Portis is
establishing himself as the clear No. 1 runner for his team.
Garrison Hearst, RB, San
Francisco: It’s not just that he rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown that
gets Hearst mentioned, it’s that he did it on 13 carries. Like many others, I’m
very high on Kevan Barlow (10 carries for 50 yards in this game), but Hearst
continues to keep the second-year talent at bay while being a productive back.On
the other hand, how bad are the Rams?!
Keyshawn Johnson, WR, Tampa
Bay: A 76-yard touchdown catch?! What?! Where in the blue hell did that come
from?! With Keyshawn, you expect production — usually, 70-100 yards receiving —
to go along with a big, fat zero in the TD column. Yesterday, he gave faithful
owners 131 yards, and the touchdown was the icing on one sweet cake.
Marvin Harrison, WR,
Indianapolis: A workmanlike nine catches for 145 yards and a TD. Exactly
what you expect from Harrison against the Bungles.
Peerless Price, WR, Buffalo:
126 yards and a touchdown for the beneficiary of Bledsoe’s first season in
Buffalo (combined with Eric Moulds drawing much of the attention from NFL
secondaries). With Drew slinging the ball around with reckless (did I mention
the 3 INTs?) abandon, Price has become a top-10 fantasy option at receiver.
Jerry Porter, WR, Oakland:
Seven catches, 117 yards and a touchdown. Porter has tremendous physical tolls
(namely, size. They say he has good speed as well, though I have yet to see that
on the field), and although he’s not likely to have days as productive as this
one very often this season (simply too many options for the Raiders), he’s
showing signs of blossoming.
Ed McCaffrey, WR, Denver:
One of the real feel-good stories of this season. Easy Ed keeps rolling along
with six catches for 113 yards, including a 69-yard bomb three minutes in that
got the Broncos rolling against San Diego.
The Bad ...
Michael Vick, QB, Atlanta: A
little harsh, considering his day was ended prematurely by an injury to his
(non-throwing) shoulder. Still, injury or not, 37 yards passing (and one yard
rushing) will leave fantasy owners in agony. The good news: X-rays were
negative. Vick is uncertain for next week. My guess is, he’ll play. You don’t
leave a weapon like Vick on the sidelines.
Antowain Smith, RB, New
England: 14 yards rushing, 4 yards receiving, no touchdowns. Yikes. It’s
hard to win with a performance like that in your starting lineup.
Lamar Smith, RB, Carolina:
Things started going downhill for Smith about this point last season in Miami.
After an 18-carry, 49-yard lemon of a performance against a bad Cardinals
defense, the same thing seems possible — hell, likely — again.
Warrick Dunn, RB, Tampa Bay:
14 yards rushing, no catches, no touchdowns. Meanwhile, T.J. Duckett gets 11
carries for 52 yards. Methinks it's safe to call Dunn dead for this season.
Eddie George, RB, Tennessee:
40 total yards, no touchdowns. Eddie simply isn’t right. One has to wonder
whether he’s ever recovered from the toe injuries of last season, or if perhaps
the poundings he’s sustained in previous workhorse years isn’t catching up to
him altogether.
Fred Taylor, RB,
Jacksonville: No, he’s not injured, as far as I know. But a 21-carry,
48-yard rushing day isn’t getting it done. Even more alarming is the sudden
trend of Stacey Mack getting all the goal-line carries, resulting in four TDs
for Mack to one for Taylor the last two weeks.
Marshall Faulk, RB, St.
Louis: Almost unfair, given his recent neck injury and the Rams’ fall from
NFL heaven. But the fact is, Faulk came into this season as the clear No. 1
pick, and while 110 total yards is by no means bad, you expect more out of the
No. 1 pick.
Issac Bruce and Torry Holt, WRs,
St. Louis: Combined, they caught seven catches for 70 yards and no
touchdowns, dooming teams (like mine) who started them (in my case, Holt over
Price and David Patten). The Rams are a sinking wreck of a team right now. Trade
these guys while they still have value (I never thought I’d write that ... but
that’s what it’s come to).
David Boston, WR, Arizona:
I’m getting very, very close to labeling this guy an official 2002 first round
bust. Three catches for 43 yards is simply not what one expects out of Boston,
who was outdone by Frank Sanders. Frank Sanders! Not very impressive.
Tim Brown, WR, Oakland: On a
day the Raiders put up 49 points, Brown catches four passes for 55 yards and
doesn’t get in the end zone. Very disappointing.
The What?!
(Guys you’ve never heard of who
kicked ass this week) ...
Dante Hall, RB, Kansas City:
Who? The guy who caught a 60-yard touchdown pass from Trent Green with 10:15 to
play in the fourth quarter, that's who.
Dennis Northcutt, WR,
Cleveland: So you may have heard of him, but you’ve never heard of him doing
THIS ... eight catches, 165 yards, two touchdowns as the Browns frantically
rallied to literally throw a scare into Baltimore. Did you start Northcutt this
week? ... Liar.
Brandon Stokley, WR,
Baltimore: He made the most of his opportunities, turning two of his four
catches into touchdowns of 30 and 35 yards.
Guys worth picking up ...
Patrick Ramsey, QB,
Washington: In leagues with 12-plus teams, most (if not all) productive
quarterbacks are already taken. Ramsey’s 268-yard, two-touchdown performance in
relief of Danny Wuerffel makes him the latest “best bet” to be Spurrier’s guy.
Most indications the last two weeks have pointed to Ramsey becoming the No. 1
signal-caller anyway — injuries have merely sped up Ramsey’s arrival. Don’t
expect the rookie to put efforts like this out every week, but against weaker
pass defenses (like the Titans’), Ramsey should be a solid play the rest of the
season.
Tommy Maddox, QB,
Pittsburgh: I don’t know what anyone else calls a 268-yard, three-touchdown
day, but I call it paydirt. Don’t laugh (OK, you will), but Maddox was the MVP
of the XFL, and regardless of what anyone thinks of the XFL, it’s still being
the MVP of a pro football league, which means Maddox has to have some skills. He
hit three different receivers for touchdowns and six different targets (at least
twice each) all told as the Steelers played New Orleans tough. He’s less of a
“sure thing” than Ramsey to start the rest of the season, but if you have a QB
coming up on a bye and Maddox is on your waiver wire, give him a shot.
David Patten, WR, New
England: Five catches, 102 yards, two touchdowns. Patten is a guy who gives
owners something every week, and on occassion breaks out a big game such as
this. If he’s available in your league, pick him up as a third or fourth option.
You’ll be glad you did.