Empty the Bench

Fantasy football and the stock market have a lot in common. To master each, it’s vital to have your finger on the pulse of the market and to buy low and to sell high with your assets (or players). You never want to pay over market value, and getting in early on an emerging star can make your portfolio blossom… or in this case, help your fantasy team compete for a title.

With that theme in mind, your dear friends at ETB have poured through all the Week 8 NFL action, and are ready to help you get set for Week 9 of the fantasy football season with news and notes on the latest gridiron heroes and zeroes.

Big Gainers:

Marques Colston, WR, New Orleans Saints: Well, well, well–look what we have here: 8 receptions, 85 yards, and 3 TDs from everybody’s favorite WR/TE of 2006. It’s hard to say whether Colston’s early-season malaise was a byproduct of his quarterback’s struggles, or if it was on his own shoulders. It was probably a little of both, but he and Brees have finally emerged as viable fantasy options once again. Last year’s seventh-round pick out of Hofstra is still trying to get over the 100-yard-game receiving hump, but you have to love the activity and a favorable schedule after next week’s home game against the Jaguars. On a personal note, love that as a Colston owner in one league, I’m rewarded by facing somebody who started Brees. Nothing like three TDs from your WR2 being essentially wasted.

LenDale White, RB, Tennessee Titans: Now that all that Chris Brown silliness from Week 1 is an afterthought, the team’s 2006 second-round pick has flourished with a full workload and running behind one of the NFL’s most underrated offensive lines. After failing to top the century mark in his first 18 professional matches, he’s now gone for 104 and 133 in successive tilts and has gotten about 26 carries per over the last three. With the Titans’ passing attack stuck in the mud, expect White to keep getting his chances. All owners should have rookie backup Chris Henry on their roster just in case.

Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Now in his ninth NFL season, Ward’s slow start looks to have been a case of nagging injury, not a sign of a drastic decline in fantasy production. After basically missing three games, Ward has returned with 15 catches for 166 yards and 2 TDs over his last two. Not huge numbers, but Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are excellent at picking their spots, and Ward is going to be a big part of this above-average passing attack as they face a series of soft secondaries over the next month or so. With Santonio Holmes improving every week, Ward should find plenty of room to do his damage; 6 - 8 receptions and 75 - 100 yards/per, and 3 total TDs, is a reasonable guess for Weeks 10 - 13.

Kevin Jones, RB, Detroit Lions: We’ve been singing KJ’s virtues for, oh, about a month now, so we’ll hand this one over to ETB regular Jon Jon Mackey, who had this to say in a particularly delighted missive to Andrew on Monday morning. “I’m smitten as a kitten over Kevin Jones. He’s doing what my stud RBs havent done–consistently gotten a touchdown. He might be the answer I need after losing Ronnie Brown.” (Email Subject Line: Kittens)

Reggie Wayne, WR, Indianapolis Colts: How, you say, can you put one of the purest WR talents in the NFL on your Stock Report? We all know he’s elite, you say. Well, coming into the season it appeared Marvin Harrison would still be in the mix to take away significant receptions and TDs, but it’s looking like this could finally be the year that Harrison’s production suffers and that Wayne overtakes him. Wayne went off for big yardage again on Sunday, hauling in 7 passes for 168 yards and 1 TD. He’s now fourth in the NFL with 668 receiving yards and in the top 10 for touchdowns (5). By the way, did you realize Peyton only has 13 TD tosses so far–tied for sixth overall with his little brother?

Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis Rams: First the Fantasy Lord giveth (8 early carries for 41 yards and a TD), and then he doth take it away (left with a back injury). Despite his early exit from what looked like could have been a revelatory day, Jackson’s post-game comments indicated he should be ready to go in Week 10 after a week to rest during the Rams’ bye. There’s some juicy matchups coming up, so owners patient enough to hang onto him could still be rewarded with a solid second half from the consensus #2 overall pick. Still, keep an eye on that bulging disk in his back, and have Brian Leonard on speed dial.

Lee Evans, WR, Buffalo Bills: We’re not ones to pat ourselves on the back… oh, forget it, we unabashedly brag whenever we nail one of our hunches, and Evans made us look pretty good in that department on Sunday. One of Andrew’s Week 8 Crystal Ball predictions was a big day for the struggling Bills wide receiver, saying he’d go for 8 receptions, 140 yards, and 2 TDs. He only scored once, but his final box score of 5 catches, 138 yards, and 1 TD is pretty damn close. The Bills have a Teddy Bear schedule coming up in terms of pass defenses, and we expect Evans to once again have a real nice second half of the season.

Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers: After a half-season’s worth of disappointment, the ‘Niners best receiving threat picked the week that ETB called him our TE Dud to put up some healthy garbage numbers (6 catches, 71 yards, 1 TD). We’re a little miffed at the timing, but it’s a good sign that he cashed in on all that attention from QB Alex Smith as his team gets set to face some beatable secondaries.

Big Losers:

Vince Young, QB, Tennessee Titans: Hate to say it, but… Madden Curse? The NFL’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year has been anything but a standout through seven games, accounting for just four touchdowns and failing to top 200 yards passing in any game. The most he’s rushed for in a single game has been 53 yards, too, and that was a Week 2 anomaly; take that effort out, and his high is just 27. That’s a disconcerting trend for a QB whose relatively high draft position was at least somewhat based on the 552 yards and 7 TDs he had rushing during his first year. The lack of playmakers at TE and WR are really killing his mojo.

Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers: We’re always a little loathe to hit the panic button on proven fantasy commodities, but the time is fast approaching to call Gore, a likely top-five or six pick in the draft, a major ‘07 bust. We’re now over halfway through the fantasy season and still waiting for Gore’s first 100-yards-rushing game, and have been patiently hoping for another TD since Week 2. It hasn’t happened. Against the Saints on Sunday, Gore carried it just 12 times for 41 yards and an underwhelming 3.4 YPC; this is supposed to be the part of the schedule when he exploits average defenses. Something tells us that one more hit to that balky ankle of his might just sideline him for the season.

LaMont Jordan, RB, Oakland Raiders: We hope you enjoyed Jordan’s unexpected fantasy jaunt through the season’s first four weeks because those days are long gone. The same back injury that severely limited him last season has flared up again and he just hasn’t looked the same since. Granted the Titans are the league’s best at stopping the run, but it wasn’t pretty watching Jordan limp to 12 carries for 16 yards on Sunday. That’s a trend, friends, not a mirage: over his last four games, Jordan is averaging 40.25 yards per, which comes out to a 2.77 YPC. Justin Fargas looks primed for a featured role (until he gets hurt, too).

Chad Johnson, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: It feels a little sacrilegious including Johnson in our Big Losers section, but even though the yardage has been strong this season, the touchdowns have been scarce. He hasn’t scored since Week 2, which has left his fantasy owners starving for a TD from their WR1 for five games straight. Meanwhile, teammate and fellow fantasy WR1 T.J. Houshmandzadeh has scored every week, making him second in the NFL with 9. Ocho Cinco is beating him in yardage by about 100, but T.J. has six more TDs and 14 more receptions. Johnson is primed to bust out, but given the choice, we’re not sure who we’d take now. No one could have predicted such a dilemma before the season began.

Brian Griese, QB, Chicago Bears: Well, there goes that. It’s looking more and more like a given that the Bears will address the quarterback position during the offseason after Griese’s four-interception dud at home against the Lions. Nobody was ever pretending he was the long-term answer to begin with, but NFL analysts and experts pounded it into our collective heads that Griese’s “game-management skills” just might be enough to get this offense over the hump. Nuh uh. Word is that Browns’ QB Derek Anderson might be trade bait this summer with Brady Quinn waiting in the wings. That’s one option, but either way, Bears fans have to be hoping neither of the guys who’ve started games this year are on the roster next season.

The New York Jets Offense: Barring injury, the Chad Pennington Era is over in New York. He was useful for a few spot starts this fantasy season, but should be dropped immediately in all formats. New starter Kellen Clemens may or may not be the long-term answer, but one way or the other this offense isn’t going anywhere, and the team itself will be lucky to finish better than 2-14. Will they be the only ones to lose to Miami?

Sell High:

Joey Galloway, WR, Tampa Bay Bucs: He had another big day (6 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD), but there are signs that the wheels are coming off for Jeff Garcia.

Clinton Portis, RB, Washington Redskins: That cat-call you hear from ETB Headquarters is “boooooo!”, not “Booooo-urns.”

DeShaun Foster, RB, Carolina Panthers: He scored a garbage TD against the Colts and is still getting featured back carries; that won’t be the case soon with DeAngelo Williams waiting in the wings and the team going nowhere.

Buy Low:

Jerious Norwood, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Word out of Atlanta is that Norwood could assume starting duties as soon as this week.

Laurence Maroney, RB, New England Patriots: Workload is increasing and it might already be too late to get him on the cheap, but it defies logic that Maroney has not been a part of ANY scoring yet in this prolific offense.

Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans: ‘Tis always smart to strike a deal while studs are injured… not the week after they return.

More Free Fantasy Football Advice for Week Nine:

ETB’s Week Nine Position Rankings

ETB’s Week Nine Matchups

ETB’s Week Nine Quick Hits

ETB’s Week Nine Cheat Sheet

ETB’s Week Nine Fantasy Mailbag