The draft is done, the lineups have been set and the first two weeks of the NFL season are in the books. Whether you are celebrating your dominating 2-0 star or staring blankly at your computer screen wondering what went wrong, this is the time in the season to take a step back and assess the state of your team.
Sure, guys like Drew Brees and Adrian Peterson are racking up numbers just like everyone thought they would, Andre Johnson is doing work and the player formerly known as Chad Johnson is finding the endzone once more. But what about the guys you drafted high who just haven't worked out, or the rising stars who are rotting away in free agency just waiting to be picked up? Allow me to offer some advice that will help you, the reader, take charge of your league and set you on the fast track for fantasy domination.
Players on the Rise
Joe Flacco - QB
Who knew that the Baltimore Ravens, a team renowned for their ferocious defense and a relentless running attack, also boasted the second most productive quarterback in the NFL? Believe it folks, Joe Flacco is for real and he's off to a heck of a start this season. Thanks to his 497 passing yards and five touchdowns to two interceptions, he currently is the No.2 point earner among quarterbacks on Yahoo.com, behind only Drew Brees. With upcoming games against Cleveland, New England and Cincinnati there is no reason to believe he's ready to slow down either.
Flacco's rise to stardom could have implications for more than fantasy teams and fantasy owners as well, as his marketing potential astronomical. Just think, it may be only a matter of time before we see Flacc-O's for sale at the local supermarket. It would be just like Flutie Flakes, except instead of Doug Flutie on the box it would be some crazy cartoon Raven whose catchphrase would be "I'm WACKO for FLACCO!" The people in Baltimore would eat that up. In the meantime while we wait for that to happen, pick up Flacco, you won't regret it.
Mario Manningham and (the other) Steve Smith - WRs
Plaxico Burress who? The New York Giants passing offense hasn't missed a beat thanks to these two young receivers. Mario Manningham introduced himself to America on Sunday night with his huge game against the Cowboys, totaling ten catches for 150 yards and one circus touchdown on the night. Steve Smith, not to be confused with the more well-known Carolina Panthers wide receiver, wasn't outdone. Smith matched Manningham with 10 catches for 134 yards and a touchdown in the game as well. Both receivers are in the top 10 point earners among wide receivers and have looked good in both games this season, but both are also free agents in most leagues. Do yourself a favor and pick up one (or both) of these guys before the rest of the league takes notice.
Picks That Aren't Working Out
Donovan McNabb - QB
This is usually how injuries go in fantasy football. It comes time to make your pick, and you go with the sure bet, someone who gets it done year in and year out. Then next thing you know, some moose of an opposing defender has his way with your player and now you're scrambling for a plan B. Luckily, this year hasn't seen a fantasy catastrophe on par with Tom Brady's injury last year (yet), but owners of Donovan McNabb probably aren't too thrilled that he is nursing a cracked rib. The good news for McNabb owners is that he will most likely return in a couple of weeks, hopefully in time to help your team before things go too far south.
The Chicago Defense
All I have to say with this one is, "ouch." The Chicago defense has been considered to be one of the best in the NFL for many years now, thanks to Brian Urlacher. But now the Bears will be without him after he suffered a broken wrist in week one against the Packers, ending his season. Make no mistake, Urlacher is as big a part of the Chicago defense as Ray Lewis is a part of Baltimore's, and losing him will be a big problem for Chicago. The Bears defense has remained steady in terms of not giving up a lot of points since the injury, but they have also failed to record any significant turnover or sack numbers, which are two of the main sources of points for any fantasy defense. Chicago deserves the benefit of the doubt given their consistency over the years, but keep an eye on them in the meantime just in case things start to go bad.
Plaxico Burress - WR
Woah, wait a minute, who? Yes, believe it or not, Plaxico Burress has been a colossal fantasy bust this season. That doesn't come as news to anybody though, so I'm sure you're all wondering: who in their right mind would draft a guy who's going to spend the next two years of his life in prison? The answer - people who miss their draft and let the computer do all the work for them. You'd think one of the site designers would think to remove Plax from the draft pool, but when I was doing my draft on Yahoo.com, I noticed that not only was Burress still on the list of players, but he was even ranked pretty high.
Later on, during the draft, there was one manager who hadn't shown up, so the computer was doing his picks for him. I think you all know where I'm going with this. Needless to say, when the manager eventually did show up around halfway through the draft, he wasn't very happy and spammed the chat box with a bunch of obscene comments that I can't repeat in this column. I can only hope that this didn't happen to too many people. If it did, I hope you're in a league that tracks felony weapons charges and community service hours as official stats, because Burress has been doing well on in both of those lately.
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