Empty the Bench

You have fantasy football problems, we have expert advice. We’ve been receiving (and answering) many many fantasy football questions lately in the comments, so to serve the greater good we’ll collect them all in one place every Saturday and make it easier for you, good reader, to find them.

Some of these Q&A’s will pertain to your fantasy roster; many of them will not. If you have a question for us, drop a direct email to brian@emptythebench.com no later than 3pm on Fridays and we’ll do our best to address your question in the 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 everyone. And, of course, if you have friends bugging you on who to start and who to bench every week, tell ‘em about ETB and we’ll fix their wagon. Fix it real good.

As always, we try to tell you what moves have the greatest probability of success. We’re not (technically) clairvoyant. Keep in mind that the right decision is the one that has the greatest probability of producing the desired results, not the one that actually does. Trading Brandon Jacobs for LT is the right move, even if LT breaks his leg on Sunday. Hitting with 20 showing is the wrong move, even if there’s an ace on top of the deck.

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

I need your advice again (and thanks for the WR direction in Week 7). I’ve got two RB slots, one of which is for Westbrook. I could put Maroney in for yet another opportunity for disappointment, or go with your sneaky play Norwood, or stick with my always-performing and not-yet-injured Portis. Which #2 option will pay off best?

- Chesty LaRue, Alamagordo, NM

Andrew:
We love Norwood’s skills, but we can’t recommend a guy in that kind of timeshare over guys owning a starting job (though he may and should get one soon). Clinton Portis doesn’t look dominant on the field, but he’s been given every opportunity to put up fantasy stats this season. He’ll get the goal-line carries in what should be a cakewalk for an offense with something to prove. Meanwhile, you’d hate to miss out on the first game that Maroney busts out or scores, but at this point, with Portis matching up against one of the league’s worst defenses that’s missing its starting middle linebacker, he’s your guy.

Which two would you use: Lee Evans vs. Bungles, Brandon Marshall vs. Lions, or Andre Johnson vs. Raiders (assuming he plays)? You guys always seem to write positive things about both players I own that I am debating using. This week its Evans/Marshall. This one might be impossible, even for you guys, to call definitively.

Evans is Losman’s only receiving target, and they have a great relationship going back to last season. Losman is trying to squash any QB controversy by using his strengths over Edwards, i.e. bombs to Evans, who has a track history of getting hot once it gets to this part of season. And to paraphrase ETB, “there wasn’t a bungle DB within 5 and 10 yards of Ward on his TD catches.” Andre Johnson is Andre Johnson, but it’s not Schaub. Sage Rosenfels did well in the 4th quarter… so, what do you think?

- Jack Sprat, Bell Buckle, TN

Brian:
Jack, you’ve clearly spent a lot of time thinking about this one, have done your due diligence on all three players, and researched the matchups thoroughly. That is why it pains me to make this answer so short: Andre Johnson, despite limited practice this week, has been ruled out of this week’s game at Oakland. He’s expected to be back in Week 11 after the team’s bye next week. Marshall and Evans are both strong starts, however, so no huge loss for you.

Need some advice on this trade. I’d be trading Heath Miller for Clinton Portis and Jeff King. I am trading for Portis because I have Lamont Jordan as my starting running back, and he hasn’t been doing too well. So here is my question: Should I do it? And then should I play Portis over Jordan in Week NIne? I also have Donald Lee as my backup TE. I should definitely play him over King, right?

- Minnie MaToot, Birmingham, AL

Brian:
Here’s our friend Jon Jon Mackey’s take on this one (posted already in the comments). Jon Jon, it’s all you…

“Do not trade Heath Miller for Portis and King. Prior to Hines Ward’s return, Miller was leading the Steelers in receptions. Even with Ward back, Miller is still one of, if not the #1 endzone target for Big Ben. Ben sees that Miller catches everything thrown his way. I expect Miller to get at least 1 TD vs the Ravens. If you went with the trade, you’d gain a worse TE and a loser running back. All indications are that Portis’ second half looks very bad. Most of the big-time fantasy football writers, including ETB, think Portis is/will be a bust.

What you should do is get rid of Lamont Jordan, whose back injury or rush-by-committee is killing his numbers. Get whatever you can for him. There’s gotta be a RB you can add via free agency or Jordan trade, right?

While we think Jon Jon is on to something–and you know we’re no fans of Portis–we think you should pull the trigger. Trading a low-first to high-second tier TE for an RB2 with a starting job is the right move to make, on paper, even though you shouldn’t be surprised if Portis gets hurt here sometime soon. We assume Miller is the only TE on your roster? You’d be getting a decent TE in return (King has really tailed off lately), but perhaps there’s a, say, Donald Lee on waivers to give you two choices week to week? We do agree with Jon in that you should cut your ties with LaMont Jordan as quickly as possible. It might be too late to get much in trade, though.

So, there you go… two different thoughts on this tricky trade scenario. Good luck.

Alright coach, let’s talk about Steve Smith. Do you really think he has top-ten potential with the QB situation in Carolina? On my fantasy team this week I have Hines Ward and Terrell Owens in for sure, then the option of Steve Smith, Greg Jennings or Jerricho Cotchery. We all know Smith is typically a stud but I was thinking of Jennings.

What’s your take?

- George Caroholopolous, Brownstown, MI

Brian:
It’s been pretty frustrating for us, and I’m sure all Smith owners, to watch such an insanely talented WR be at the mercy of David Carr and Vinny Testaverde. Smith is one of the best at making things happen out of nothing, and yet both of his beleaguered quarterbacks have mostly failed at just getting him the ball and letting him do the rest. It’s so hard to bench him because on any given week, he could just go off.

It’s not a great matchup and he could really underwhelm… again… but you have to roll with him as your WR3 and feel pretty confident about it. Most teams aren’t fortunate enough to have Owens, Ward, Smith, and your other guys, and one way or the other your team should come pretty close to putting up the most overall points at the WR position this week in your league. In that slot, go with the proven fantasy stud.

I am wondering who should I start for my RB2 - Fred Taylor, Chris Henry (of TEN), or Kenton Keith. Thanks.

- Buck Rogers, Kansas City, MO

Brian:
Well, Buck… I’m sure you’ve seen that Henry is facing a potential four-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. He should still be active this weekend, but it’s probably safe to drop him after Sunday. We’ve never been big fans of Fred Taylor, and Maurice Jones-Drew has a much greater probability of scoring there for Jacksonville. This one’s tough: keep an eye on Sunday morning’s injury report, and if for some crazy reason LenDale White is held out with a sore toe, Henry becomes a must-start. Otherwise, roll the dice and go with Kenton Keith. Hey, you know there’s going to be points on the board in that one….

Ok, expert opinion needed on a trade that was made in my league. Brett
Favre, Shaun Alexander, Torry Holt, Larry Fitzgerald, and Mason Crosby for
Alex Smith, Lamont Jordan, Vincent Jackson, Brandon Stokley, and Joe
Nedney. Is this:

Would love to get your thoughts.

-James Ambrose, Machu Picchu, Peru

Andrew:
I’m going to have to go with option C. This trade should have been vetoed. I’m not a huge fan of trade vetos, but I think there are two instances where a veto is warranted. The first is in a case of extraordinary incompetence/ignorance that threatens the competitive balance of the league. I mean, somebody is just so fucking stupid they’ll ruin everything for everybody. The second is a situation where there are strong indications of collusion. Now I don’t know the parties involved in this deal or what’s at stake, so I can’t say for certain what’s taking place, but it’s hard to believe somebody could be that stupid.

More Week Nine Fantasy Goodness:

ETB’s Week Nine Matchups

ETB’s Week Nine Position Ranks

ETB’s Week Nine Stock Report

ETB’s Week Nine Quick Hits