Empty the Bench

Playing fantasy football and playing the stock market require similar skills. To master each, it’s crucial to have your finger on the pulse of the market in order to buy low and to sell high with your assets (or players). You want to avoid paying over market value for your players, and getting in early on an emerging stud can make your portfolio blossom… or in this case, make your fantasy roster win a title.

With that theme in mind, your good friends at ETB sort through all the Week 7 NFL action and help you get all set for Week 8 of the fantasy football season with updates on the latest gridiron heroes and zeroes.

Big Gainers:

Jesse Chatman, RB, Miami Dolphins: Those Ronnie Brown owners who didn’t believe in handcuffing their studly RB1 to his backup are paying for their insolence dearly this morning. Brown will miss the team’s final nine games of the season with damage to his ACL, which thrusts former San Diego Charger Chatman into the starting role for the 0-7 Dolphins. It was a laugher on Sunday filled with about 45 minutes of garbage time, so don’t read too much into it, but after stepping in Chatman rushed 7 times for 73 yards and 1 TD. HC Cam Cameron is familiar with the former undrafted free agent from their days in San Diego, and for his part Chatman performed well during fill-in duty for LT back in ‘05, sporting a healthy 6.0 YPC and scoring 3 TDs in limited action. The ‘Fins have an unmerciful schedule ahead of them, but Chatman has some talent and is a solid flex play most weeks.

Kenny Watson, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: If there wasn’t one before, there certainly is one now. We’re talking, of course, about that trendy trend of trends in the NFL, the Running Back Timeshare, and after his career-best performance against the lowly Jets, Kenny Watson has solidified a role in the Bengals offense, even when incumbent workhorse Rudi Johnson returns. On the day, Watson punched the pigskin into the endzone three times while racking up 157 total yards and a respectable 4.2 YPC. He’s missed two full seasons (‘03 and ‘05) since entering the league as an undrafted free agent back in ‘02, but Watson looks pretty healthy for now and is a better receiver out of the backfield than Johnson. Don’t expect the world (especially against PIT and BAL in Weeks 8 and 10, respectively), but the Bengals put points on the board and he’s a very solid flex play until further notice.

Tony Scheffler, TE, Denver Broncos: There’s something to be said for young players in this league practicing together on the second- and third-string squads, developing a chemistry, then translating that to Sunday action once they’re elevated to the starting unit. We’re seeing that between second-year players Jay Cutler and Scheffler, who hooked up for a short TD pass in the Broncos’ thrilling 31-28 win over the Steelers. The big 6′5″ tight end finished with 5 catches for 50 yards, and will benefit from Stephen Alexander’s recent retirement and the absentee performance of Daniel Graham. This is the guy who scored four times in the last four games of the ‘06 season and averaged 15.9 YPC–it’s no coincidence his production saw an uptick when Cutler took over for Jake Plummer.

Kevin Jones, RB, Detroit Lions: We’ve been saying it for a few weeks now, but Jones finally got the starting nod against the Bucs and showed why we’ve been on your case about acquiring him while his value was still low. The Lions were uncharacteristically conservative on offense, running the ball early and not deviating from that game plan. Jones’ presence as a hard runner and excellent receiver with good vision had a lot to do with it. His 100 combined yards and 1 TD is a solid baseline projection for KJ from here on out, and it’ll be interesting to see what he can do against the Bears on the road in a big NFC North clash on Sunday.

Anquan Boldin, WR, Arizona Cardinals: The interception he threw on the Cards’ two-point conversion attempt sunk his team’s chances of an improbable comeback in Washington, but his owners could care less–they’re just happy to see him back on the field and producing. His yardage was surprisingly low for a WR with 8 catches on the day (29), but the two short TD receptions more than make up for it. He’ll now have a bye week to rest up even further, which should also benefit his QB, Kurt Warner. It’s a long run of shitty pass defenses after that, so you can safely assume Boldin is back as a stud WR1.

Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons: And just when it looked like Byron Leftwich could breathe life into the ‘Birds putt-putt golf offense, he goes down with an ankle injury that may or may not have a lasting impact on his availability. To be fair to Joey, he came in and didn’t embarass himself, going 12-18 for 128 yards. At any rate, neither QB is that great, yet White continues to make strides in his third season, catching 8 passes for 110 yards and a TD. He’s clearly the top wideout in Atlanta and warrants strong consideration as a weekly flex play, especially against lesser opponents like the Saints (or 49ers in Week 9).

Calvin ‘Megatron’ Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions: It was a thing of beauty for this Lions fan (don’t laugh!) to watch: Calvin Johnson taking a reverse hand-off, sprinting around the edge, stiff-arming Bucs LB Cato Junes, making a few helpless defenders miss, then taking it into the endzone for a 32-yard rushing TD. It was most certainly one of the top three plays of the day; Johnson looked like a gazelle. A big, strong, fast gazelle. Just a reminder that we ranked Megaton as our top WR/TE flex play in last week’s Cheat Sheet, and said “After being limited by injury the past few games, Calvin Johnson has fallen off many’s fantasy radar. Don’t make that mistake–he’s at 100% and we think he’ll surprise this week.”

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: It’s about to get interesting for Roethlisberger, his skilled WR and TE corps, and all of their fantasy owners. We didn’t expect much from any of ‘em going into their road game against the Broncos and their top-ranked pass defense, but with Champ Bailey a late scratch Big Ben went nutso. It wasn’t enough to get the win, but his 4 TD passes equaled his career high for most in a game; that both of these career games have come this season is a good indication that he’s going to blow up over the next month and a half. He’ll get the Bengals twice, Ravens, Browns, Jets, and Dolphins over that stretch. Put on your bib, Roethlisberger owners, it’s time to feast.

Big Losers:

Marc Bulger, QB, St. Louis Rams: If you were hoping that Bulger’s return to the lineup would give the league’s lowest scoring offense a jolt–that’s right, the Rams have the worst in the league–well, enjoy commisserating with your fellow Holt, SJax, Bruce, McMichael, and Leonard owners this week. It wasn’t pretty against the Seahawks: 21-40, 225 yards, 3 INTs, 2 Fumbles Lost… and no, we didn’t forget to add his TD passes because there weren’t any. Rams skill players are overall the biggest surprise/disappointment of the ‘07 fantasy season, and for you, unlucky owners, we do shed a single solitary tear in your memory.

Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers: We still think there are better days ahead for Gore, but considering his draft position there is no denying that he’s been a major letdown as we approach the halfway point of the season. Now he’s dealing with an ankle sprain that could sideline him against the Saints, and had this to say to Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat after yesterday’s embarassing blowout at the hands of the Giants: “I feel that a lot of people when coach Hoss or somebody calls something, it gets in the back of their heads, ‘Is he calling the right play?’ instead of just going out there and busting your behind. That’s all it is right now, I feel.” We’re still waiting for Gore’s first 100-yard game of the season, and starting to seriously wonder if it’s going to happen, period.

Warrick Dunn, RB, Atlanta Falcons: This whole veteran loyalty thing manifesting itself in stubborn head coaches like Brad Childress and Bobby Petrino is a plague that badly needs a cure. When the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson gets just 12 carries against the Cowboys, despite an early score, it’s just wrong. And when Warrick Dunn–for the third week in a row–posts a YPC under 2.7, yet still gets the bulk of the carries, it’s just stupid. Especially when there’s a gamebreaker like Jerious Norwood behind him who’s just itching for some burn. We didn’t think the nine-year vet’s stock could get much lower, then he goes and rushes 13 times for 28 yards and catches 1 pass for 1 yard against that defensive juggernaut known as the Saints. By the way–one of those carries was for 12 yards. Take that out, and his line is 12 carries for 16 yards. Rubbish.

Shaun Alexander, RB, Seattle Seahawks: We’re getting tired of every week rehashing how bad Alexander has played, and honestly, you might be sick of reading about it. He’s a depressing shell of his former fantasy-stud self and we see no reason why HC Mike Holmgren should stick with him any longer at this point. The ‘Hawks have a very good chance to win the middling NFC West, and they need to go with whichever RB gives them the best shot to win. Is Alexander still that guy? We’re not sure, but me and every other Alexander owner out there wish they could somehow rid themselves of this fantasy albatross.

Rudi Johnson, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: See Kenny Watson, above.

Travis Henry, RB, Denver Broncos: Mike Shanahan confirmed that Henry’s ribs are not broken, but we’re guessing he’ll still find any excuse to start working his “prized rookies,” Selvin Young and Andre Hall, into the regular RB rotation. You see, Shanahan prefers the Bill Belichick approach to his running backs, jettisoning them onto and off the field, keeping their real-life value relatively low, and reducing their fantasy value to unpredictable at best. After a promising start to the season, yardage wise, Henry could be the latest victim of Shanahan’s “See How Smart I Am” game. Either way, keep in mind that despite solid rushing totals so far (549, good for sixth in the NFL), he’s still only scored once all year.

Sell High:

Earnest Graham, RB, Tampa Bay Bucs: Graham had a big day against the Lions on Sunday, going for over 190 combined yards and touching the ball on just about half of the team’s total plays. Still, the presence of newly acquired Michael Bennett will loom all year, and we’re not high on this offense anyway.

Clinton Portis, RB, Washington Redskins: Sure, he had 2 TDs this week and now has 5 of ‘em on the season, but we’d be very surprised if he makes it past, say, Week 10 without suffering some kind of injury. It’s a great time to move him. Don’t say we didn’t warn you if you don’t at least try to.

Ronald Curry, WR, Oakland Raiders: The Raiders’ passing attack is nothing special as it is, but will get even more sporadic as the season wears on, the team’s playoffs hopes fade, and they start hearing the calls for first-overall pick JaMarcus Russell.

Buy Low:

Roy Williams, WR, Detroit Lions: Roy has been quiet since his big performance against the Eagles in Week 3, totaling just 12 catches for 112 yards and 0 TDs over the past three games. He’s much too talented to keep that up, though. Get him now.

Jerious Norwood, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Stop with the silly veteran loyalty games, Bobby Petrino. You know and we know that Warrick Dunn is AWFUL and that it’s time to stop this charade and hand over the reigns to Norwood. He should be a weekly flex play by now, and it should still happen eventually.

Laurence Maroney, RB, New England Patriots: We’re pretty disgusted with Maroney’s situation, but not ready to sell low by any means. He’s going to play a big role in at least 2 – 3 of your fantasy team’s wins this season. Book it.

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans: There has to be some impatient owners out there–his value will never be lower than it is right now.

More Free Fantasy Football Advice for Week 8

Week 8 Matchups