Fantasy Aftermath: You’re A Hot Dog

Aw man scoring all those touchdowns must make a top draft pick hungry. The rookie quarterback for The Jets found himself in some lukewarm water as he was caught eating a hot dog in the final seconds of this past Sunday’s game against the Raiders:

I hope that was a good frankfurter, Sanchez’s snack attack became the fodder for quite a few blogs. He made amends today by donating 1,000 hot dogs and hamburgers to a local soup kitchen. Now that hot-dog gate is over on to Week 7.

Patriots Pride

Heading into last weekend people looked at the International match-up of the Patriots and the Buccaneers and predicted blow-out. They were right as the Pats took it to the Bucs 35-7. Tom Brady is continuing to look more and more like the Tom Brady we all know and love with his 308 yards and 3 touchdowns; however the 2 interceptions were a surprise for a QB who only threw eight picks in 2007. I’d write it off as a fluke and move on.

With Sammy Morris and Fred Taylor out of the Patriots running back stable, we looked to Laurence Maroney once again to hopefully produce some points for our fantasy teams. Given his spotty hit-or-miss history, you had to pick him up knowing there was a good chance he’d still do nothing despite getting the majority of the carries. 13 carries for 43 yards sounds like an L-Mo bust but luckily he found the end zone to minimize the usual disappointment owners get when they start Maroney. I picked him up for a team this week and stuck him in my flex spot- and I dusted off my Patriots jersey (a Laurence Maroney one) to wear this past Sunday. I’m happy for the 10 points he scored me but the 3.3 yds/carry tells me I should start shopping for another jersey.

It’s no surprise that the Patriots surprised everyone a previously undisclosed injury, Bill Belichick will do that for you. With the emergence of Julian Edelman put on hold with a forearm injury, names like Brandon Tate and Terrance Nunn were thrown around as possible candidates to become 3rd in line to Moss and Welker. The ball was instead thrown to Sam Aiken and he caught it (twice ) for a total 66 yards and a touchdown. However before you go rushing to pick him up, realize he only had three total targets and with two stars ahead of him- I’d write it off as a fluke unless we see something more.

Reading The Box Scores & Watching The Highlights

• Ryan Grant looked good and has consistent in the points he scores but maybe now is the time to sell high looking at his schedule down the road.
• Donald Driver continues to look better over Greg Jennings. Jennings is still getting the targets, but does that mean you should buy low on Jennings or sell high on Driver?
• Mohamed Massaquoi maybe young, talented, and the team’s #1 target; but it doesn’t make Derek Anderson a better quarterback. I’d let him be somebody else’s problem
• It’s funny that Michael Crabtree (5 receptions/1 game) already surpassed Darius Heyward-Bey (4 receptions/7 games), I’m not ready to say Crabtree is ready to be the top pick he was drafted to be- I always have a bad feeling on holdouts.
• I’m getting tired of the Shaun Hill or Alex Smith debate, at least fantasy owners can stay away from both. Too bad Mike Singletary has to pick one.
• Vernon Davis already has a career high in TDs and is close to racking up more receiving yards than last year. However how much of his 3 TD game part of Alex Smith? He’s looked respectable in his last four games and could be worth a pick-up.
• Why did Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson look so good last weekend? Because of the fantasy death of LT.
• LJ needs to stop tweeting. It won’t be long before Charles is in charge.
• Steven Jackson continues to be a beast. You may look at him and complain about the lack of TDs but I blame it all on the terrible Rams offense.
• Favre looked good in the passing game but it his turnovers that cost him the game, now this is the gunslinger Minnesota needs to watch out for.
• Sydney Rice stepped up in Berrian’s absence and looked great. I love him as a pickup this week.
• Mike Wallace is another name that looks like a hot pick-up but he’s still 3rd on the depth charts, maybe for deeper leagues but it all depends on who you already have.
• Last week I employed a new strategy: pickup the defense that plays Jake Delhomme. So far so good.
• A typical TO stat line this season: 3 rec for 27 yards- wasn’t this the same way Torry Holt died?
• Today was a day of QB switches, Gradkowski came in and showed why he’s Bruce Gradkowski.
• When I hear Fibula poking through leg, I think your season is over. Shonn Greene was a big sleeper because we thought Thomas Jones was done this year (he isn’t yet) but Greene is now going to get some time with Washington done for the year.
• Carson Palmer flashed some leather against a weakened Chicago secondary, he threw TDs to Ochocinco, Coles, Henry, Foschi, and I believe the ball boy.
• Cedric Benson also took it to his former team, I can’t believe he already has a league leading 720 yards and 5 TDs.
• In other news Matt Forte is having quite the sophomore slump.
• Despite what I wrote, it looks like Miles Austin is for real.
• Felix Jones looks like he’s ready to eat more time away from Barber and to make Tashard Choice irrelevant.
• Eli finally came back to earth- just in time for his annual 2nd half collapse.
• Hakeem Nicks is quickly making people wonder if he’s the guy you want after Steve Smith.
• In a shootout, the Saints look like they could seriously run the table, which makes me afraid for the Pats.
• Ricky Williams is still a viable RB2 compared to his fantasy season last year, as long as he’s playing in the Wildcat he will always have a good chance to score.
• Mike Bell got a lot of mop up time in the 2nd half of the game so I’m not going to say he’s the guy you want, but will he end up being the goal-line back?
• As someone that lives in DC, I can tell you that we all think that the Redskins are a mess, but it doesn’t mean they are totally fantasy irrelevant.
• Remember in previous years when Brian Westbrook would get injured and people would scramble for Correll Buckhalter? Well it’s the same thing but replace Correll Buckhalter with LeSean McCoy.

I Rock At Fantasy Football

After Week 7 I went 3-2 in my leagues.

4 Sport Boston League: W (4-3)

DC-Boston League: W (4-3)

Couch League: W (5-2)

James Bond League: L (5-2)

Fantasy Football Librarian League: L (4-3)

Related posts:

1. Fantasy Aftermath: Putting On The Miles
2. 4 Sport Boston: Fantasy Aftermath
3. Fantasy Football: For LT TD’s Comes In Pairs
4. Fantasy Football: Ashton Kutcher: Prankster, Actor, and Fantasy Football Guru
5. Fantasy Friday: Stumbling On My First Fantasy Drafts