Dr. Pigskin: Week 11
Hope you had a good week. We are fast approaching fantasy playoffs which means you need to win this week. Make sure you scour the waiver wire for any options that can improve your team this week.
Let’s take a look at this week’s best and worst.
Studs
Matt Cassel, QB, New England Patriots: Cassel had a bomb Thursday night game against the Jets. I am sort of surprised that a quarterback can throw for 400 yards and three touchdowns without an interception this early in his starting career.
Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts: The Colt offense is back. I know it helps having the Texans on the schedule, but now you can expect Peyton to but up big numbers every week.
Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis Colts: Finally this first round fantasy pick paid some dividends as he racked up over 150 combined yards with two scores.
Marshawn Lynch, RB, Buffalo Bills: The man with the gold grill was seen running all over the field Monday. The former Cal running back gained over 170 combined yards and added a score.
Anquan Boldin, WR, Arizona Cardinals: I think Boldin should now be mentioned as a top three WR in the league. His domination continues as he caught 13 balls for 186 yards. If you had him in a point per reception league, this week was especially good for Boldin.
T.J. Houshmanzadeh, WR, Cinncinati Bengals: It seems as though Ryan Fitzpatrick has established a great rapport with Houshmanzadeh, making T.J. a much better fantasy option than Chad Johnson at this point.
Duds
Phillip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers: The Chargers have been so disappointing this year. If you started Rivers last week you could not have expected much more than the handful of fantasy points he got you this week.
Tony Romo, QB, Dallas Cowboys: It was a slow start for Romo as his threw a couple of picks (not all on Tony) and did not really put up great numbers. The game was won with Marion Barber, who just trucked fools for eight to 10 yards at a time.
Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: The Bengals did a good job containing Westbrook and held him to 70 combined yards.
Tim Hightower, RB, Arizona Cardinals: If you started Hightower, you were expecting more than 35 yards, but why run when you can pass? Kurt Warner spent the whole afternoon chucking the ball downfield to Larry Fitzgerald and Boldin.
Santana Moss, WR, Washington Redskins: This Cowboy killer was held in check all game as he only gained 29 yards.
Terrell Owens, WR, Dallas Cowboys: Is there a receiver in the league that has worse hands? I think Hanon, the wide out from Little Giants has better hands than T.O. If you are unfamiliar with this reference, add the movie to your Netflix queue and watch it with your kids.
Call of the Week
The call of the week at QB is to start Brady Quinn at home against the Houston Texans. You can throw against the Texans and Quinn has shown he is a competent NFL quarterback. Unless you have a stud like Warner or Peyton Manning, I think Quinn would be a good look in this spot.
The call of the week at RB is to sit Brian Westbrook on the road against the Baltimore Ravens. The Eagles are clearly not the Giants, as they will not run all over the Raven defense. Westbrook has shown to be quite inconsistent this year and he is a very risky start this week. Go elsewhere at RB if you have options.
The call of the week at WR is to start Santana Moss on the road against the Seahawks. I think Jason Campbell is poised to have a great game against Coach Jim Zorn’s old team. Campbell will target Moss often and he should put up great numbers.
Sleeper of the Week
The sleeper of the week is Warrick Dunn, RB, of the Tampa Bay Bucs, who are in Detroit. With Earnest Graham on IR, Dunn will be forced to have a greater impact on the ground game. Do not sleep on Dunn’s ability to run for about five yards a carry. Look for a decent output this week as he goes up against the winless Lions.
