Empty the Bench

It’s been a long, painful slog to get here, but you made it–you’re in the fantasy playoffs. And if you’re not, don’t feel too bad, it happens. If we’ve learned anything this season it’s that fantasy football is an utter crapshoot, and outside of a lot of luck and a few shrewd moves, there’s really not a whole lot you can do to ensure victory.

Except for one thing–reading Empty the Bench. Religiously. Every day. This season your fantasy football preparation (should) have started on Tuesday with our Stock Report, which we bring to you once again as an update on the latest gridiron heroes and zeroes from Week 13. After this one we’re down to just two more Stock Reports for the ‘07 fantasy football season, so you should probably print this, frame it, and hang it your cube. The new guy who looks and acts like Rorschach will be very impressed.

Big Gainers:

Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings: Purple Jesus is back, and hopefully you didn’t miss out. Given Chester Taylor’s impressive performances while AP was out with an LCL, and word that he would be wearing a potentially uncomfortable knee brace against the Lions on Sunday, many owners employing both backs probably went with the safer option and took the wait-and-see approach on AP. Well, you can put him back in there: 15 carries, 116 yards, 2 TDs. That’s pretty good. We expect little to no resistance from San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington over the next three weeks. Fortunately for anyone who benched AP and started Taylor, Detroit was kind enough to ensure plenty of production for both backs–Taylor finished with 87 combined yards and a score.

Mike Furrey, WR, Detroit Lions: The big contract extension he inked during the offseason seemed to indicate a serious investment in last year’s NFC leader in receptions, but Mike Furrey has been a forgotten man in the Lions’ sputtering offense this time around. After hauling in an astounding 98 passes, recording four games of at least 100 yards receiving, and scoring six times in ‘06, Furrey has just 46 catches for 522 yards and 1 TD through 12 games. In smaller leagues, there’s a good chance he’s languishing away on waivers. If you need WR help, though, he’s a nice pickup after Roy Williams sprained his PCL on Sunday, an injury that will likely keep him out until next year. The Lions throw a ton, and Furrey’s seven receptions in the blowout loss to Minny are a good barometer of what to expect this week against the Cowboys.

Bryant Johnson, WR, Arizona Cardinals: The former first-round pick doesn’t seem properly wired to handle a featured role over an extended period of time, but he has delivered in fits and spurts when forced to step up in others’ absence. Right now it looks like Anquan Boldin is going to miss at least a week with some kind of yet-disclosed injury (toe? hip? leg?), and since the Cards’ other wideout stud, Larry Fitzgerald, was scratched on Sunday with a groin problem, Johnson looks to be the most talented WR on the roster still able to go full speed. He had 6 receptions for 56 yards and 1 TD on Sunday, and if he is Arizona’s WR1 or WR2 come Week 15 against the Saints, Johnson could put up even better numbers against Jason David. **UPDATE** It’s now been reported that Boldin has a broken toe that will sideline him for at least this week.

Earnest Graham, RB, Tampa Bay Bucs: We’ve been relatively skeptical about Graham all year long, but it’s gotten to the point where even we have to acknowledge that he’s getting the job done on a regular basis and is going to be a major factor in any potential playoff run/success for Tampa. He’ll also play a big role in the much more important fantasy playoffs, as he’s really been rolling over the past four weeks (405 yards rushing, 4 TDs) and draws a series of pedestrian rush defenses for the rest of the year, starting with the Texans this Sunday. When Cadillac Williams went down (again), most of us figured the team would make acquiring a starting-caliber RB a top priority in the offseason. The bruising Graham may have forced a change of plans.

Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons: The third-year wideout is on fire right now. After his monster game against the Rams on Sunday (10 catches, 146 yards, 1 TD), White now has 16 receptions for 250 yards and 2 TDs over the past two weeks. We didn’t think such numbers were theoretically possible with men delivering the ball named Joey Harrington and Chris Redman. No telling who’ll start this week, but he should be in your lineup against New Orleans (and against Arizona, in Week 16) regardless.

Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Ward has been a PPR league boon over the past few weeks. With Santonio Holmes inactive, Ward has re-assumed his status as Big Ben’s unquestioned go-to guy, totaling 20 catches for 178 yards and 2 TDs, both of which came yesterday against those lovable Bungles. Outside of the Week 11 anomaly against the Jets (2 catches, 47 yards), Ward has been very solid since returning from an injury in Week 7. It’s not a great matchup, but you can’t bench Ward against the Patriots on Sunday; in fact, we expect him to catch at least 6 passes playing from behind.

Fred Jackson, RB, Buffalo Bills: He’s not long for a starting job in Buffalo as long as rookie stud Marshawn Lynch is around, but Lynch has been out longer than expected with an ankle injury and his backup, Anthony Thomas, has been hurt too. Jackson, an undrafted rookie out of Coe College, received his first career start and took advantage, recording a solid 5.1 YPC and 151 combined yards in the team’s 17-16 win over the Redskins. HC Dick Jauron has expressed confidence that Lynch will be ready to go on Sunday against the lowly Dolphins, but keep an eye on this situation. Jackson would be a fairly solid plug-in flex play if Lynch isn’t ready.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, Carolina Panthers: He’s probably not going to get a full workload this season, but Williams showed this week why we’ve been clamoring for him to get more touches in Carolina. Starter DeShaun Foster still got more carries and did score, but Williams was trusted with a season-high for carries (17), and he responded by rushing for 82 yards. He also caught one pass and broke it for 46 yards. The 5-7 Panthers are probably still trying to convince themselves that they can make the playoffs somehow, but we all know that’s not going to happen. Let’s see what Williams can do with 20+ carries and a few passes out of the backfield. Not a fantastic fantasy playoffs schedule though: @ JAX, SEA, and DAL.

Big Losers:

Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: You can blame some of it on the rain, but like Milli Vanilli this once-vaunted Bengals offense has to be considered somewhat of a fraud. They managed just 10 points and 249 total yards on Sunday in Pittsburgh, which we all know is a very tough venue to play in even when the weather cooperates. Still, Palmer has no business going 17-44 for 183 yards and 0 TDs with guys named Johnson and Houshmandzadeh lining up on the outside. He hasn’t been awful this season, but he hasn’t been all that good either, especially considering that many people had him pegged as the next-best fantasy QB behind Peyton coming into the season. Right now he’s ranked 7th overall at his position in ETB’s scoring format, but he may have cost his owners a win yesterday. He’ll face a series of below-average secondaries during the fantasy playoffs (STL, @ SF, CLE), so here’s hoping this horrid performance is an aberration.

LenDale White, RB, Tennessee Titans: The bad news just keep a-coming for Stay Puft, and no, we’re not referring to the late-breaking development that White’s favorite CiCi’s Pizza buffet has reportedly closed down. That’s pretty tragic stuff, but his fantasy owners are more concerned that Chris Brown seems back in the picture after the two Titans RBs essentially split carries against the Texans. Both scored, but White has not carried it more than 13 times since Week 9 and seems to be wearing down. He also broke his middle finger, which is somewhat ironic given that many of his owners have had that very same finger raised in his direction for a few weeks now.

A.J. Feeley, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: These Philly quarterbacks just love making appearances on the Stock Report. Feeley has dutifully followed in Donovan McNabb’s footsteps by first landing in the “Big Gainers” column, then following up a strong performance with one bad enough to warrant mention in the opposite category. After tossing four interceptions at home on Sunday in a game the Seahawks desperately tried to lose but did not, Feeley has effectively killed any kind of QB controversy. HC (for now) Andy Reid confirmed that McNabb will start against the Giants in Week 14 if he’s healthy. We’re just thrilled.

Warrick Dunn, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Has HC Bobby Petrino finally seen the light? Will the serviceable-but-unspectacular Warrick Dunn finally lose some carries to the underused-yet-explosive Jerious Norwood now that the team’s season can officially be considered over? Sadly, we have a feeling that Petrino and his 3-9 Falcons will continue riding the 11-year vet despite what the numbers tell us, which is that Dunn’s 3.2 YPC is almost the lowest of his career, that he has only rushed for over 100 yards in one game this year, and that he stunk up stinky St. Louis on Sunday (10 carries, 17 yards). Meanwhile, Norwood ripped off a 36-yard run and finished with 8 carries for 96 yards and 3 catches for another 21. Let’s stop this silliness, Mr. Petrino, and give Norwood full-time duty this week at home against a beatable New Orleans DEF. Pretty please.

Anquan Boldin, WR, Arizona Cardinals: The Arizona Republic is reporting that Boldin dislocated his toe on Sunday, though as of Monday we’re still waiting for official word. If it’s a toe injury it’s obviously no big long-term deal, but it would affect him for the near future and with some playoffs starting this week that’s all his owners are concerned about for now. You drafted/traded for him because of the Cards’ semi-favorable schedule over Weeks 14-16 (@ SEA, @ NOR, ATL), and it sure would be a bummer if he were to miss time now, especially against the Saints. Stay tuned, and add Bryant Johnson, above, if you haven’t already. **UPDATE** It’s now been reported that Boldin has a broken toe that will sideline him for at least this week.

Willie Parker, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: It’s looking more and more like there is something wrong with Willie Parker. I’m a fan of his and a believer in his skills. When Willie is on his game he’s one of the most quick and elusive rushers in the NFL. While he is over 1,000 yards rushing on the season and averaging 91.1 yards per game on the ground, this is clearly not the player we drafted. He hasn’t scored a TD in six weeks and has only two on the season. Parker scored 16 TDs last season. The 3.8 YPC on the year is anemic compared to the rest of his career, where he has never dipped below 4.4 YPC. Parker also put the ball on the ground five times last night, something I’ve never seen him do. I’m not sure what the story is, but I get the sneaking suspicion he’s dealing with an undisclosed injury. Whatever the case may be, Willie Parker is clearly not himself. - Andrew

Denver RB Owners: As we mentioned in this week’s Hangover, it looks like the roulette RB wheel in Denver is back in full effect, and where it’ll stop on any given Sunday nobody knows. Selvin Young started but didn’t score, Travis Henry didn’t impress but scored twice, and HC Mike Shanahan pointed and laughed at anyone who didn’t think this would happen sooner or later. The timing couldn’t be worse for a headache this size, and we wish all of you wrapped up in this mess the best of luck. The only piece of advice we can offer is to avoid this morass altogether if you have more reliable options, and keep it in mind when drafting next season.

More Free Fantasy Football Goodness for Week 14:

- ETB’s Week 14 Matchups

- ETB’s Week 14 Position Ranks

- ETB’s Week 14 Cheat Sheet