Empty the Bench

You have fantasy football dilemmas, we have expert advice. We’ve been getting (and answering) a lot of your fantasy football questions lately in the comments section, so we thought it might behoove the greater good to collect ‘em all in one place every Saturday and make it easier for our general readership to find them.

Some of these Q&A’s might pertain to your fantasy roster; many of them will not. If you’re feeling left out, drop us a direct email at brian@emptythebench.com no later than 3pm on Fridays and we’ll do our best to address your question in the fantasy football mailbag. Or you can feel free to post it somewhere in the comments. Please understand that volume will dictate whether or not we get to every question. And, of course, if you have friends nagging you on who to start and who to bench every week, tell ‘em about Empty the Bench and we’ll fix their wagon. Fix it good.

Onto the questions… names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Starting running back for Week 6: With my injured Stephen (sic) Jackson, I’m not sure who to start besides Edge. Ron Dayne, Justin Fargas, or Earnest Graham? I picked up Kenton Keith but he’s on a bye week. Pretty stout Ds lining up against these former backups. Who would you play? Thanks in advance.
- Bob Bull, Massapequa, NY

Brian:
Who could have predicted such a putrid start to the season for SJax and the Rams’ offense? His owners can only hope and pray that they get at least eight solid weeks of production out of him at this point, and even that’s optimistic with that torn-up groin apparently not healing ahead of schedule.

Anyway, James is a pretty strong start this week against a middle-of-the-pack Panthers rush defense. He probably won’t go off, but we like his chances for 100 combined yards and a score. As for the crux of your question, Earnest Graham is your man. Ahman Green is not listed on Houston’s injury report at the moment and figures to get the bulk of the carries against the Jags; not a great matchup for Green or Dayne. LaMont Jordan didn’t finish practice on Wednesday, but we think he’ll be good to go and at least be splitting carries with Fargas and Dominic Rhodes. It’s too much of a gamble to roll with Fargas until we see Jordan go down for good and/or Rhodes flub away his expected role.

Graham is the only one of that bunch slated to get full-time duty. He’ll also be getting the goal-line carries, so we think that’s your guy in Week 6. Hope it works out for you, and good luck.

What about Maurice Jones-Drew? After his “breakout” game last week, I thought you might mention him. I know you guys haven’t had good things to say about him (rightfully so). I drafted him early, played him, lost a couple of close head-to-heads, blamed him, dropped him, then just picked him again this week since my other RBs are on bye weeks. What’s your take on his matchup vs. Houston this weekend? Thanks.
- Barry Power, New Brighton, MN

Andrew:
We did actually predict a good game for him in the Crystal Ball last week, and mentioned that he played well in the Hangover this week. It’s not so much that we don’t like MJD or think he’s a bad player. He’s very talented and capable of being a fantasy asset. We just thought he was extremely overvalued heading into the season and that teams counting on him as a second-round pick would not be satisfied.

He’s certainly worth owning and starting in good matchups, or using as a flex play or bye-week replacement most weeks. Unfortunately, the Jags’ schedule is pretty tough against the run this year. As for this week, HC Jack del Rio should try to get him more involved, and he plays well at home (check his 2006 splits), but the Houston defense is greatly improved and this could be a very low-scoring contest. And, of course, don’t forget that Fred Taylor is still very much in the mix, though MJD greatly outplayed him in Week 5. We want to see MJD put up good numbers two weeks in a row before thinking about maybe possibly getting on the “he’s back” bandwagon.

Is Daunte Culpepper a better fantasy option than Kurt Warner this week? That San Diego pass D looked amazing for the first time, but it was against the crappy play of Cutler. Kurt Warner played like wet anal leakage last year with Boldin and Fitzcarraldo, but might go crazy on Carolina. This is NOT a points per completion league.
- “Big” Al Buckley, Paris, TX

Brian:
We’re not sure what to think about Culpepper just now, but we do know that his fantasy outburst in Week 4 (2 passing TDs, 3 rushing TDs, but just 75 yards through the air) is not an accurate barometer of what to expect from him moving forward. We’re fond of the phrase “don’t chase last week’s stats,” and feel like starting him against a rejuvenated Chargers defense, in San Diego, would be doing just that. The Raiders’ strength is clearly running the ball, and they’ll exhaust that approach until forced to throw.

Until we see otherwise, we’re still calling Culpepper turnover-prone, inaccurate, and too much of a wild card to rely on. Old Man Warner is not a sexy start and he did indeed burn his owners last year, but he’s the safer start facing a very average Panthers secondary with those studs at WR. Good luck.

I’m looking to make some room on my roster this week due to the breaks these sissies have needed since 1990. Should I drop Derrick Ward or hold onto him and play a WR in my W/R spot? My options are Vincent Jackson or a pickup RB like the original Adrian Peterson. I am slightly worried by Brandon Jacobs’ balls-to-the-wall style of running, which might lead to another injury. Cheers!
- Dr. Rob van Cutsem, Bucksnort, TN

Andrew:
I’m not sure I would drop Derrick Ward right now. He proved to be a capable starter in Jacobs’ absence for four weeks and then proved on Sunday he can be a useful flex play against bad defenses even when Jacobs is around. I certainly wouldn’t drop him for Adrian Peterson at this point, although we are high on the OG-AP. Depending on what scrubs you have on your bench, he could be worth an add, but not a start just yet.

I don’t think there’s any shame in starting a WR like Vincent Jackson at home against an Oakland pass defense that’s been only average thus far. Sure, he’ll see a lot of Nnamdi Asomugha, but the massive Jackson has 3 inches and 30 pounds on him. He’s quietly on pace for a 1,000-yard season and his size makes him a threat to score on any given week.

I was starting Derek Anderson, but I have Kurt Warner too. You have me second guessing myself. Who should I roll with?
- Joey JoJo, Dearborn, MI

Brian:
Kurt Warner is quite the hot topic this week. This is a very close call, but ya know what? We’ve been ragging on Derek Anderson all year and feel like we kinda owe him one… so go with Anderson. He’s good for at least 2 TD passes with Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow absolutely abusing opposing coverages, and the Browns may pass more than usual if Jamal Lewis sits with a pussyfoot. Honestly, this is a toss-up, so go with your gut.

Any word on Maroney’s status? I have him, Sammy Morris, Thomas Jones and Lamont Jordan. Jordan’s looking more and more like a no go, so I gotta get the Morris/Maroney decision right.
- Mikey Wanamaker, Louisville, KY

Brian:
According to reports Thursday from The Boston Globe, Maroney should be good to go on Sunday, but you know as well as I do that Bill Belichick relishes nothing more than screwing with his players and, more importantly, his players’ fantasy owners. On Friday, Belichick said Maroney is “getting closer” but that he’ll likely be a game-time decision. It’s a tough call because of the late start on Sunday, so if you really wanted to hedge your bets, I’d say start both Morris and Maroney, but then I’m not sure how many of those four you can play? It doesn’t look good for Jordan (and not a great matchup anyway). We’re no fans of Thomas Jones–but the absolute safest two to play are him and Morris. Your gut call–it sure would suck to miss out on Maroney TDs if he plays.

Tough receiver quandry I’m grappling with: Torry Holt hasn’t scored on the road this season, and although almost everyone would disagree I’m probably gonna bench him since I think he can’t play well enough outside of a dome. In the event that I do bench Mr. Holt, do I start Burleson or Stallworth? Considerations: Stallworth has a hammy strain, Hasselbeck prefers Engram, Brady has multiple options besides Dante, both NO and Dallas vulnerable to the pass, but which game will be higher scoring?

Finally, I’m starting Shaun Alexander and Sammy Morris. Is there a clear advantage between a Morris/Stallworth start and a Alexander/Burleson start? Kind of a random/weird question, but I’d appreciate your take on the situation if you get a chance. Thanks.
- Johnny Picard, St. Louis, MO

Brian:
Despite his overall poor play thus far, we can’t recommend that you follow through on your “threat” to bench Torry Holt. You drafted him to be your WR1, and even though he’s banged up and the Rams offense is a wreck, you can’t sit him. What if this is the week he goes off for 150 yards and 2 TDs? You won’t be able to sleep on Sunday. It’s not a great situation overall, but start him against the Ravens, who struggle defending the deep ball. Also, we’d go with Stallworth over Burleson–both figure to get their looks, but Stallworth has more big-play ability and the ‘Boys give those up. There’s going to be some points on the board in that one, too.

As for your other question, I don’t think so. Sure, by starting two guys on the same team, you’re increasing your odds of claiming a TD, but you shouldn’t let that influence your final decisions too heavily. Morris and Alexander should both be strong plays, and though Stallworth is anything but a guarantee, we like his chances to score more than Burleson’s. Good luck.