Empty the Bench

- It sounds like soap-opera drama is brewing in Detroit:

“Our boat’s not very full, I know that. We don’t have a lot of people left in our boat right now,” said [Detroit Lions QB Jon] Kitna about the sulking Lions locker room. “I’m talking about us in general. We are not heading in the same direction right now, as a football team. There’s an easy way out and a hard way out. We have to choose the hard way if we want to do it. But we have to choose it — all 53 guys. We can’t have some and not the others.”

Yep, it’s getting ugly for the Lions, whose last four games (DAL, @ SD, KC, @ GB) all look pretty unwinnable after watching the team lose four straight after starting off 6-2. The suddenly toothless Lions were trounced by the surging Vikings on Sunday, who rode a solid all-around effort by the improving Tarvaris Jackson (18-24, 204 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and a dominating run game to a big 42-10 win in front of the home crowd. The NFL’s leading rusher, Adrian Peterson, returned to action after missing a few and picked up right where he left off, bulldozing his way to 116 yards rushing and 2 TDs on just 15 carries. Chester Taylor wasn’t too shabby either, getting 14 carries for 70 yards and a score. Fantasy owners wise enough to own both of them probably need to consider starting both of these hosses; both are going to get burn and are running behind one of the league’s very best offensive lines.

As for Detroit… ugh. They lost Roy Williams to a knee injury, Kitna threw his requisite interception and took his requisite 3 sacks, Kevin Jones rushed the ball just three times, totaling 1 yard, and Calvin Johnson did not catch a pass until the fourth quarter–and that was his only catch of the day. The Lions rushed the ball just six times all day, and it’s become increasingly clear that OC Mike Martz will not be back next season. Only the Lions could turn a revelatory 6-2 start into something this ugly.

- One of the more impressive, unheralded streaks of this year’s NFL season has finally come to end. Jacksonville Jaguars QB David Garrard established a team record by going 231 consecutive pass attempts without throwing an interception, and was rolling along just fine on Sunday against a very fine Colts secondary until Antoine Bethea picked him off. Garrard’s Jags lost 28-25, but anyone who started him can’t complain too much about the returns in a tough matchup: 24-29, 257 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 Fumble Lost. It’s on the Jags front office to get this man some more accomplished playmakers at wideout in the offseason.

- Oh boy, here we go again: the parade of running-back uncertainty in Denver is back with a vengeance. Rookie Selvin Young got the start (7 carries, 2 receptions, 45 combined yards), but Travis “Secondhand Smoke” Henry was the fantasy breadwinner with 2 rushing TDs. He also lost a fumble and finished with a subpar 3.3 YPC, which means projecting which RB is the one to start for the next few weeks is murky at best. The Broncos take on the Chiefs at Mile High Stadium in Week 14 in what’s an absolute must-win for a team dangerously close to falling out of the playoff picture.

- I’d rather own Justin Fargas than any Denver RB at this point. In that same game Fargas carried the ball 33 times for 146 yards and 1 TD. He’s been rock-solid for the the Raiders this year and should go over 1,000 yards rushing this week or next with a 4.8 YPC on the season. Fargas has now paired over 100 yards rushing with a TD three times in the last five weeks.

- Shed a tear for Eddie the Miami Dolphins, who may have just squandered away their best chance of scoring that elusive thing called a victory by getting blown out by the “powerhouse” New York Jets, 40-13, at home. Nobody wants to be the team that Miami beat, and we just can’t see this sorry squad going into what’ll likely be a freezing Buffalo and beating the Bills in Week 14. They then draw the Ravens at home, the Patriots in New England, and then wrap it up by hosting the Bengals. Wouldn’t it be ironic if a) during the same season the Pats go 16-0, the only other formerly unbeaten franchise, Miami, goes 0-16, or b) Miami’s only win comes against those Pats, who finish 15-1? Yes, it would be.

- Kurt Warner and Derek Anderson have been two waiver-wire gems this season, and they both put up respectable numbers when they faced off on Sunday. That was to be expected though, as neither of these secondaries is anything special right now. Warner now has at least 2 TD passes in each of his last four games and is playing like a very strong fantasy starter heading into the playoffs. That Week 15 matchup against New Orleans should pay nice dividends; hopefully he’ll be playing with his top receivers in that game.

Larry Fitzgerald was a late scratch with a groin injury, but should be ready to play by next week. Anquan Boldin went down in the third quarter with what the Arizona Republic is calling a dislocated toe, and there’s no word on his prospects for Week 14 yet. That means the talented Bryant Johnson needs to be owned in all leagues and could be a great fantasy play in the coming weeks if either starting receiver misses more time. He finished with 6 receptions for 56 and a score. Oh, and Braylon Edwards is also a good receiver to own right now: mark down another 7 receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown.

- St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson is working his way off the All-Fantasy Bust team with a surge in production over the last half of the season, and should be in your lineup every week until he proves otherwise. Jackson totaled 167 combined yards and a touchdown, giving him 4 scores over his past 5 games. He should bring the hapless Bengals defense to its knees in Week 14.

- DeAngelo Williams hasn’t had anywhere near the breakout season that most fantasy players expected and drafted him for, but he did outplay DeShaun Foster again on Sunday. Williams remains the Carolina Panther’s running back of the future and has the explosiveness and moves to be a very valuable fantasy commodity in that role. DeShaun Foster scored a touchdown, but he finished with 21 carries for just 58 yards (2.8 YPC). Meanwhile, Williams put up 82 yards on 17 rushes (4.8 YPC) and caught 1 pass for 46 more yards. Is it his time? Will the Panthers finally turn to Williams down the stretch and give him an audition for next season? If so, he could play a big role in the fantasy playoffs this season as a RB3.

- He scored his first touchdown since the Dawn of Man, but Shaun Alexander was largely unimpressive in his team’s narrow 28-24 win over the Iggles. On the day he carried the ball 20 times for 65 yards and the score, but his backup, Maurice Morris, was much more efficient with limited touches (5 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD), and he’s now broken off runs of 46 and 45 yards in successive weeks. Alexander’s longest run of the season is 22 yards. Good luck figuring out who to roll with next week against Arizona.

- Much to the chagrin of LenDale ‘Stay Puft’ White owners, it appears we have a full-fledged timeshare in Tennessee again. White has struggled mightily the last few weeks while carrying the load, and the Titans nearly split carries between White and Chris Brown again this week. White toted the ball 12 times for 60 yards and a TD, while Brown carried it 11 times for 46 yards and another TD. That’s going to make it hard for LenDale owners to start him with confidence in the coming weeks, and we’re all hoping they get this situation back in order before that juicy game at home against the Jets in the fantasy championship.

- The Titans managed to muddy the Texans quarterback situation as well. For the second time this season, they sent Matt Schaub to the locker room with a shoulder injury. Sage Rosenfels replaced him and was mediocre, but he did manage to find Andre Johnson for most of the afternoon so it should not affect the all-world wideout’s fantasy prospects too much. Schaub will undergo an MRI on his dislocated left shoulder today. Gary Kubiak has said he doesn’t think Schaub will miss the rest of the season, but it looks like Rosenfels will get the nod for Week 14 at least.

- We all saw the game and I don’t want to spend too much time on the Bungles, but Cincinnati’s lack of character and discipline off the field really shows up on the field on Sundays. It’s a real shame, because they have some dynamic and exciting players on offense. Carson Palmer is too good and too classy for this orgaization. And say what you will about Chad Johnson, but he shows up on Sundays and keeps his nose clean the rest of the week. That can’t be said about most of this team, and it falls at the feet of HC Marvin Lewis.

- Our hearts go out to the Redskins, their fans and the family of Sean Taylor after his untimely loss earlier this week. We don’t want to pile on a team that is attending the funeral of their young star today, but it has to be said: Joe Gibbs gave the game away with his double-timeout gaffe at the end of the game. Rian Lindell made a 51-yard, game-winning field goal, but it was brought back because Gibbs called a timeout just before the snap. Apparently unaware of the NFL rule that gives a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for consecutive timeouts, Gibbs called another. With the wind blowing, Lindell then barely made a 36-yard field goal with 4 seconds remaining to seal the game.

- I thought this would be the week that the Saints finally inserted themselves into the playoff picture, but their secondary let them down again. Luke McCown played surprisingly well to lead the Bucs to a four-point victory over New Orleans, and the win puts Tampa up by three games with only four left to play. In other McCown news, Josh led the Raiders to a 34-20 victory over the Broncos by completing 14-of-21 passes for 3 TDs and 0 INTs. Perhaps the oddest stat of the day: The McCowns combined to throw for 454 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT… and two Ws.

Crazed Vikings Face-Painter photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images