SUNDAY RECAP: AFC VARIETY

Chad Pennington- With the critics calling for a change at QB, Pennington needed a big game, and he delivered just that on Sunday. Pennington completed 24 of 31 passes for 286 yards and a TD in the Jets win over the Texans. Questions were raised about how healthy his arm was, but it appeared like it was back in its form similar to the beginning of the season. While it’s hard to start Chad anymore in fantasy, he has a very good matchup in Green Bay next week.

Leon Washington/Kevan Barlow/Cedric Houston- In what should have been a very strong performance for the Jets running game instead turned into a total flop as they totaled only 27 yards on the ground all game long. After looking like the most promising RB on the team in previous weeks, Washington received the least carries against the Texans on Sunday. There is no longer a clear cut number one back on the team which spells disaster for Leon Washington fantasy owners.

Corey Dillon/Laurence Maroney- As expected, neither Patriot RB was too productive against the stout Bears defense. Maroney had 13 carries for 33 yards while Dillon had 11 carries for 40 yards with a costly late fumble. Considering that Maroney is actually getting more carries than Dillon, he’s a great play against Detroit next week.

Willis McGahee- After returning from injury McGahee had a very productive game in limited work. It was a 12 carry 63 yard 2 TD performance that led Buffalo to victory. It was about half of McGahee’s normal workload, but if you played him in fantasy you were surely grateful for his two scores. Next week should be a tougher matchup against the swarming Chargers defense.

Carson Palmer- The Bengals QB had a very rough middle of the season, but he seems to have rebounded nicely for a strong second half of the year. For the third straight week Palmer had a three touchdown day. Despite a season that has been filled with several off the field problems in the organization, Palmer has put up a solid 21 TD 8 INT year. There’s a pretty good chance that Palmer could match last year’s numbers if he continues to play this way.

Ben Roethlisberger- Although Roethlisberger has thrown more than ever this season, that is not necessarily a good thing. The Steelers seem to have forgot that they won a Super Bowl by running the football. Big Ben has become extremely prone to the interception with 5 of his 19 coming in the last two games. If you’re looking for yards, Big Ben is your guy, but he throws way too many interceptions to be any sort of a fantasy QB.

Charlie Frye- Despite flashes of brilliance the last two season, Sunday’s 4 INT performance against the Bengals confirms that Charlie Frye is just not going to be the guy in Cleveland for the future. Frye is a very capable backup in this league, but he is too turnover prone to start. His sideline argument with Braylon Edwards doesn’t help his case either. Expect a veteran QB to be brought in next season.

Fred Taylor/Maurice Jones-Drew- Despite huge performances on the ground from their RB tandem, the Jags were unable to get the win in Buffalo. Jacksonville has been an up and down team all season, but their running game has been consistent every game. Taylor had 101 yards on the ground, while Jones-Drew had 145 total yards and a TD. Jacksonville is one of the few teams in football with two productive RBs each week which makes both guys decent options in fantasy.

Joseph Addai- The rookie RB for Indy was quietly putting together nice efforts week in and week out. Sunday night was the coming out party for Addai as he exploded for 171 yards rushing and 4 TDs. Addai appears like he will get the majority of carries for the rest of the year which makes him a very good fantasy option. The Indy system is great for RBs because they put up numbers there that they wouldn’t anywhere else. Just ask Edgerrin James.

Vince Young- In one of the most thrilling comebacks of the season, Vince Young had his best game as a pro. Young was able to lead his team back from a 21-0 deficit against a banged up Giants defense. Young was helped greatly by several dumb mistakes for the Giants, and he finished with a career high 249 yards passing and 3 total TDs. The rookie QB has shown a lot more consistency than other young running QBs, and he seems to get better from week to week.

Wali Lundy/Samkon Gado- As bad as the Jets running game was on Sunday, the Texans was worse. Lundy and Gado combined for 15 yards on the ground in a very pathetic effort from the entire Houston offense. Lundy did have 68 yards receiving which makes his day a bit more bearable, but if the Texans can’t run against the Jets who can they run on.

LaDainian Tomlinson- Well it was the first time since week 7 that Tomlinson did not run for more than one TD. So what does he do? He throws for his second TD of the season to go with his one rushing. Tomlinson single handedly beat the Raiders while Philip Rivers struggled. It was another example of how Tomlinson is both the MVP and the best fantasy player in the league.

-David Cassilo
Fantasy Contributor

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SUNDAY RECAP: NFC STYLE

Jason Campbell- While Campbell wasn’t as effective a passer as he was the previous week, he did manage to lead his team to victory over the favored Panthers. Campbell completed only 11 of 23 passes for 118 yards, but he did manage to throw two scores for the second consecutive week. It’s clear that Campbell will one day be a good quarterback in this league. He has given the Redskin offense some life, and makes them more competitive than they were with Mark Brunell.

Ladell Betts- The new Redskins starting RB faired much better in his second start than his first. Betts finished with 24 carries for 104 yards. He did leave the game briefly after taking a big hit, but he was able to return with no ill effects. Betts remains a solid fantasy option with Washington facing a weak schedule against the run the rest of the way.

Eli Manning- The toughest QB to judge this side of Rex Grossman and Michael Vick has become Eli Manning. The first half Manning looked brilliant and completed almost all of his passes leading the Giants up and down the field. However, in the second half the Giants completely fell apart. Eli once again started to force passes and was largely inaccurate. The whole Giants offense is out of synch, and it could be a situation that explodes if things don’t get turned around. Don’t start Eli until he shows he’s out of this slump.

Jeff Garcia- The new Eagles starting QB did a very fine job Sunday night. Garcia completed 19 of his 23 passes for 140 yards and 2 TDs. The Eagles defense was the part of the team that let them down. With Garcia at QB it appeared like the value of Donte’ Stallworth and Reggie Brown will take a hit because Garcia relies more on TE LJ Smith. Although Garcia played well, his schedule is too difficult to seriously consider him every week.

Brian Westbrook- It’s clear that with McNabb out, Westbrook has become the focal point of the entire offense. He ran for a season high 124 yards and a TD. However, part of this success was due to the Colts worst rush defense in the NFL. Regardless, with McNabb out Westbrook will get more touches than ever so expect him to be more valuable now than any other part of the season.

Brad Johnson- It may have been a last stand for Brad Johnson on Sunday. With his critics all over him following four straight losses, Johnson had his best game of the season with 271 yards passing and 3 TDs. He wishes he could play Arizona last week, but after the team’s next game with Chicago, Minnesota has a very favorable schedule the rest of the way. You could do worse than Johnson for the rest of the year, but you could certainly do better as well.

Rex Grossman- The Bears QB continued his week to week up and down season with another down on Sunday. He only completed 15 of 34 passes and turned the ball over four times. It was his fourth multi turnover game of the season. Typically after a poor performance Grossman bounces back, and against Minnesota last week the Bears will try to throw as successfully as the Cardinals did on Sunday.

Michael Vick- Things are really starting to get ugly in Atlanta. Following the game Vick made a few obscene gestures towards the Atlanta crowd. If the Falcons cannot break the losing streak and beat Washington next week, word will begin to circulate about possibly both Vick and Coach Mora being replaced at some point. In midst of Sunday’s mess, Vick did rush for 166 yards on the ground. However, his 9 for 24 passing performance will not cut it.

DeAngelo Williams- After last week’s performance, big things were expected out of Williams in his first start. However, Williams disappointed with only 63 yards on the ground against one of the weaker rush defenses in football. If Foster does not return next week, Williams has another good matchup against a Philadelphia defense that was just torn up by fellow rookie Joesph Addai.

Drew Brees- There’s a new run and gun team in the NFL, and they play in New Orleans. Brees is basically a passing yardage machine as he topped 300 yards for the 5th straight week. He also tossed in two TDs to give him 19 for the year. The amazing part of this has been that the last few weeks he hasn’t even done it with healthy receivers as both Marques Colston and Joe Horn missing games during this stretch. Expect Brees to put up big numbers the rest of the year.

Devery Henderson- It’s clear why the Saints opted to trade Donte’ Stallworth before the season as they are one of the deepest teams at WR in football. Henderson stepped in for the injured Colston and had 158 yards receiving and a TD. It was the second straight week that Henderson topped 150 yards receiving. As long as Colston is out, Henderson is a very good option in fantasy.

Steven Jackson- After only 7 carries last week, Jackson had his best game of the season in the Rams win against San Francisco. He carried the ball 23 times for 121 yards and a score while also totaling 9 catches for 71 yards. He’s the focal point in the offense, and has become one of the best receiving RBs in football. Next week against Arizona should be another huge day.

Frank Gore- It was another huge day for Gore who had over 6 yards per carry for the third straight week. He finished with 134 yards rushing and a TD. Outside of Tomlinson and Larry Johnson, he has been the best fantasy RB this season and his good roll should continue as he faces four poor rush defenses in the upcoming weeks.

Matt Leinart- The Cards knew that they would be unable to run the ball against the Vikings so they dropped back and passed on virtually every play. Leinart threw the ball 51 times while completing 31 for 405 yards. The only disappointing aspect of his game was only 1 TD to 2 INT. The Cards will never throw like this because it eliminates virtually any chance of winning, but they will rely heavily on Leinart who has only been under 200 yards passing in one start this season for Arizona.

Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin- I’d separate these two players, but I’d write basically the same thing about both players. The only difference in their performances on Sunday was that Boldin caught a TD and Fitzgerald didn’t. Boldin finished with 140 yards to go along with his TD while Fitz had 172 yards. They are both in the top 10 WRs in football, and they will continue to put up huge numbers considering the Arizona running game has been virtually non-existent for the second straight season.

-David Cassilo
Fantasy Contributor

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Fantasy Hoops!

Welcome all to my first post on Rotoboys.com. I hope you can use my information and advice to improve your fantasy basketball teams. Since my main fantasy league is an 9 category roto league (the 8 normal categories and turnovers), I will gear my advice towards rotisserie scoring leagues. I will update you on all of the hot waver wire pickups, recent injuries, position battles, and buy low/sell high. I will also update you on everyday happenings around the league. Feel free to email me at bigmel2k5@yahoo.com with any questions about your own teams, I will be glad to assist you. I will post my first column on friday november 24th. So watch out for it and for a new column every day from here on out! Good luck to all and to all a happy thanksgiving!
~Brian Melnick aka Big Mel

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NEWS & NOTES



Ronnie Brown couldn't do much in practice on Friday, but it still looks like he may start on Sunday. The Dolphins will most likely try to get Sammy Morris some extra carries to keep Brown fresh. The play the Vikings who have the number one rush defense in football, so starting Brown is a poor option.



Bears WR Bernard Berrian will be a game-time decision for their game against the Jets. The Bears want to be sure that Berrian can take a shot to the ribs. If they plan to determine this by actually by actually giving him one is still to be decided, but we won't know more till Sunday.



There are conflicting reports to whether Reuben Droughns actually practiced on Friday, but either way it appears like he will not play. Jason Wright will fill in for him and make his first NFL start.



Greg Jennings has been dealing with his ankle injury for close to a month now, but once it again it won't keep him out of the lineup on Sunday. Jennings won't start, but he will be the team's 3rd WR.



The 49ers are eager to get TE Vernon Davis back on the field, but his status still remains in question for this week. Nothing will be determined until most likely Sunday. Since the 49ers have a late afternoon game, you may not have the option of waiting for inactives.



Regarding the injury situation in Seattle, it appears that the Seahawks will have Shaun Alexander or Matt Hasselbeck in the lineup on Sunday but not both. Alexander is far more capable of playing right now, so it will probably be him, but nothing will be decided until before the game.



Fantasy WR bum Santana Moss will again miss the Redskins' game on Sunday. He had a bad week in practice and felt worse than the week before. This appears like it may be a situation that won't go away all season.



49ers RB Frank Gore was upgraded to probable after suffering a concussion in the 49ers last game. San Francisco faces a huge game against Seattle, and Gore will have a big day if he is truly healthy.



After missing the last two games, Joe Horn will be back in the lineup for the Saints on Sunday. Horn has a nice matchup against a weak Bengals pass defense, but this also means that Marques Colston's chances of double digit catches every week take a huge hit.



David Carr has had a pretty solid season so far, and he will look to continue his fine stats after being upgraded to probable this week. While he's not a very good fantasy option, it's good to see that he's getting a chance to finally show what he can do this season.

-David Cassilo
Fantasy Contributor

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